


A Childlike Wonder Of The World Outside

by Kaizoku_no_Kazoku



Category: One Piece
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:00:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26599444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaizoku_no_Kazoku/pseuds/Kaizoku_no_Kazoku
Summary: Luffy has been talking to Zoro online for the past year. Now he'd like to meet his friend whom  he thinks is really cool, but Zoro refuses to give out his contact info, or even send a picture of himself. What is Zoro hiding from him?
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Roronoa Zoro
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	1. You Brighten Up My Day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I forgot to give a great big THANK YOU to pingo1387! Without her help, this fic could not have been written. Also thank you to hare003 for her contributions to the fic
> 
> I'll be posting this fic alongside Of Riceballs and Tapenade
> 
> Jyo'ou is one of the words for queen in Japanese, meaning her username loosely translates to Queen Kuina. Yeah, it's probably not as funny as it was in my head

Luffy, lounging on his bed on a brisk November evening, opened up Twitter on his phone. Seeing his best online friend on, he hit the DM icon and immediately began typing:

NikuNiku Kaizoku: HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY!!!

It took a moment as usual, for his friend's reply to pop up.

KATANAmaster1111: hey! thanks luffy! i am happy, now that you're on! so... what's up?

NikuNiku Kaizoku: i just got back from a walk, so i wanted to come on, see how you were doing. what you were up to

KATANAmaster1111: as good as i can be, i guess. not doing anything right now

NikuNiku Kaizoku: 🤣🤣🤣

KATANAmaster1111: what's so funny?

NikuNiku Kaizoku: whenever I message you, you're not doing anything! lol aren't you gonna go out later and celebrate your birthday with friends?

A long pause before the next message popped up on the screen.

KATANAmaster1111: yeah, sure! it's gonna be fun!

NikuNiku Kaizoku: wish I could be there too!

KATANAmaster1111: me too! whenever I talk to you, you brighten up my day. don't mean to sound sappy, but it's true!

NikuNiku Kaizoku: if it's true then it's not sappy!

KATANAmaster1111: really? thanks :-)

NikuNiku Kaizoku: so, where do you live? i've asked you before, but you've never told me.

Another long pause. Luffy was about to put his phone down when the bubble with three dots appeared.

KATANAmaster1111: i'm in a small town in hokkaido, nothing much to see or do

NikuNiku Kaizoku: oh... well that's ok! you're probs not that far from where i live, since i'm in hokkaido too! when I have time, i can come over and finally get to meet you!

KATANAmaster1111: that's not really a good idea.

NikuNiku Kaizoku: why not? you seem really cool!

KATANAmaster1111: cause, i don't get out much.

Luffy couldn't think of any reason why his friend wouldn't be able to get out much, unless...

NikuNiku Kaizoku: boss has you working hard every day?

KATANAmaster1111: umm, yeah, something like that.

NikuNiku Kaizoku: oh, well, let me know when's a good time to visit, and I'll try to make arrangements to come, ok?

KATANAmaster1111: ok, sounds good.

NikuNiku Kaizoku: i'mma go eat dinner now! see you later!

KATANAmaster1111: bye

Luffy tapped out of the app, wondering, not for the first time, why his friend was always so evasive and secretive. Despite the fact that there were weirdos on the internet, he didn't think Zoro was one of them.

He'd been talking to Zoro for almost a year now, but though he considered Zoro one of his closest friends, Zoro still refused to meet up face-to-face, giving a different excuse every time. He badly wanted to google Zoro to find out exactly where he lived, but he didn't even know his surname. Plus, if he didn't want to be found, Luffy didn't think it right to try to look him up against his wishes. Luffy sighed as he pressed a button, watching his phone screen go black. If Zoro ever wanted Luffy to know more about him, he'd tell him when the time came. Until then, Luffy could wait.

\--------------------

Roronoa Zoro checked his email, sifting through the junk mail to find the few that might be relevant. Not seeing anything particularly of interest, he clicked out of the browser, sighing before closing his laptop.

Gazing sadly outside the window of his hospital room, he witnessed the last of the colorful leaves of autumn as they softly fell; fluttering and twirling in the gentle breeze, leaving the branches they'd left behind bare. The baby birds had long since gone from nests that were also left behind.

Even though he was dressed in a oversized green hoodie with katana-printed fleece pajama pants and white socks, he still shivered as he thought of the cold, brisk air outside.

"Cold?" A voice to his right asked.

Without moving his gaze from the window, he knew who had just spoken. It was his older sister, Kuina. He shook his head. "No..." He sighed again. "Just bored, as always. I wanna walk outside, just once. I wanna go _anywhere_ , just once."

Having had many different illnesses, at least one of them stemming from the time he was born, Zoro had only ever known hospitals, doctors, and nurses. Restricted diets, numerous medications, and nearly constant monitoring of his vital signs, made up his life, and were therefore all he knew. Living in a children's hospital until he reached 18, then being transferred to a normal long-term hospital after that, he had not had a normal childhood by any means.

Kuina got up from the chair she'd occupied, laying a hand on Zoro's forehead. "Looks like you're running another fever..." She pulled up the blankets to his chest. "I'm gonna get Dr. Sugimoto-"

"No. It's not as if there's anything that can be done," Zoro said, annoyed with his body's tendency to betray him at every opportunity. "I just need to ride it out."

"They could give you something to ease it though," Kuina tried to reason.

Zoro shook his head. "I wish I could just live a normal life." He paused for a moment. "Kuina?"

"Hmm?"

The look on his face as he gazed into Kuina's eyes, broke her heart. "...Am I ever gonna get better?"

Her younger brother had been battling illness ever since he'd been born, and over time as he got older, things seemed to get worse, not better. Among other things, he had a severe case of epilepsy that, despite medication, seemed to still plague him with seizures a few times a day. Though they weren't always of the grand mal type, they still bothered him greatly whenever they occurred.

"I don't really know," Kuina said at last. She wished she had the power to make everything better for her little brother, to make it so he didn't have to spend his life in a hospital.

"Damn it, I'm sick of this!" Zoro wiped the sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. "I shouldn't have to be sick all the time."

"I know," Kuina said, using a tissue to wipe her brother's forehead. Then she got up to wet a cloth with cold water to swab him with. "Why don't you want your friend to come here to meet you? His name is Luffy, right?"

"Yeah... But look at me... He can't know about this... He thinks I'm cool! I can't let him know the truth!" Zoro exclaimed, grabbing and hugging a large floppy-eared Cinnamoroll plushie, and gazing back through the window.

Kuina deduced the problem quickly. "You think that he'll not like you anymore, and that you'll lose the only friend you have left."

A long pause, and a sigh. "...Yeah..."

"Give him a chance, Zoro. He may surprise you. He doesn't seem to me to be the kind of person to abandon you, especially for something like this."

"Yeah, you're probably right, but still..."

"You know I'm right," Kuina said. "Listen. I'll talk to Luffy. If, after I talk to him, he no longer wants to be your friend, I'll take full responsibility. Okay?"

To her surprise, he sighed and conceeded. "...Okay... Fine..."

Zoro reached for the control for his bed. Finding it, his hand closed over it. "I need to sleep for a while," he told Kuina as he lowered the head of the bed.

"But it's nearly time for you to eat," Kuina informed him, a concerned note in her voice.

"They can save it for later. Right now, I'm really tired..." Zoro said, yawning as his bed returned to it's original flat position. He turned over onto his side.

Kuina knew that when Zoro grew tied, with a sudden need to recharge his batteries, he was tired to the core of his bones. Reaching over the railing of his bed, she pulled the blanket up to his neck. "Sweet dreams, Zoro."

As she watched him slip into slumber, her heart worried for her brother. He wondered if he was ever going to get better. She wondered how much longer he had to live. All of Zoro's friends and roommates from the children's hospital he'd been in when he was younger, had already passed. Zoro was actually the only one still living. Despite the sadness in her heart, Kuina smiled. Zoro hadn't been expected to live as long as he had. They'd given him ten years, tops, back then. Her smile faded though, as she realized that Zoro's naps were getting longer and more frequent. She really wanted to chalk it up to severe depression, but couldn't rule out the fact that he might be reaching his life's limit. One day, he could very well not wake up at all...

She shook her head. She couldn't think that way. Still, even though he'd beaten the odds and lived ten more years than he'd been expected to, she still spent as much time with her only sibling as she could.

Kissing Zoro on the forehead, she sat down with her own laptop on her lap, going to the Twitter website, and following NikuNiku Kaizoku.

\--------------------

It wasn't long before Luffy followed Kuina back and she immediately received a DM from him.

NikuNiku Kaizoku: hi! thanks for following! i hope we can be good friends!

Kuina knew how full of cheer the guy could be from his conversations with Zoro, but the cheerfulness still took her by surprise. She gathered her thoughts a moment before replying.

Jyo'ou Kuina: Hi, I'm Kuina. You're friends with my younger brother, Zoro

NikuNiku Kaizoku: is zoro ok?? he's not hurt or anything is he??

Jyo'ou Kuina: Well, he's not really okay.  
Jyo'ou Kuina: The truth is, he's sick.  
Jyo'ou Kuina: He's sick, and he has been for a very long time.

NikuNiku Kaizoku: oh no! why didn't he tell me??  
NikuNiku Kaizoku: how long's he been sick for? a few weeks?

Jyo'ou Kuina: I'm afraid that it's been a lot longer than that. He's bedridden and has lived in long-term hospitals all his life

NikuNiku Kaizoku: is... is he gonna die?

Jyo'ou Kuina: Well, he's beaten the odds by living this long; he wasn't supposed to live past ten years old. But no one's really sure how much longer he has now.

It was Luffy's turn to get quiet. After a while...

NikuNiku Kaizoku: oh...

Jyo'ou Kuina: You're the only friend he currently has. I know he'll never say it, because that's just how he is, but it would really mean a lot to him if you could visit him one day when you can. If you still want to remain friends with him, that is.

NikuNiku Kaizoku: are you joking? of course i wanna still be his friend! i can't end our friendship just cause he's sick! what hospital is he in? i'm gonna get the first train ticket there!

Kuina smiled warmly. She'd been right about Luffy. She gave him the name and location of the hospital, as well as Zoro's last name and his room number.

Jyo'ou Kuina: Just so you know, he's been very ill these last few days. And even when he feels okay, he still can't get out of bed.

NikuNiku Kaizoku: that's awful  
NikuNiku Kaizoku: can I call you kuina?

Jyo'ou Kuina: Sure.

NikuNiku Kaizoku: thanks kuina. i'll be there first thing in the morning

Jyo'ou Kuina: Boy! You don't waste any time do you?

NikuNiku Kaizoku: nope! 😊

Jyo'ou Kuina: Alrighty, see you then, I guess. And thank you for being such a great friend to Zoro.

\--------------------

Luffy tapped out of the Twitter app once again. Now it all made sense. The evasiveness. The fact that he didn't get out much. Zoro wasn't weighed down with job responsibilities, he was weighed down with illness!

_Whenever I talk to you, you brighten up my day!_

Luffy was the only friend that Zoro had. No wonder he was always "not doing anything". There's nothing to do when you live in a hospital and any friends you have are online. No wonder Zoro seemed so happy to see Luffy whenever he logged on. He was The Only Friend Zoro Had.

The reason he was so secretive made sense too. He'd been trying to hide the fact that he was sick from Luffy so that he wouldn't lose Luffy as his friend. It also explained why Zoro never sent him any pics of himself, even though Luffy had asked so many times. Sadness threatened to consume Luffy.

After a moment, he moved to his laptop, opening it, about to book a ticket to Mikasa, Hokkaido, when he heard a knock on his door.

Ace opened Luffy's bedroom door a crack. "Hey, me and Sabo are about to go pick up dinner. You wanna come, or want us to pick you up something?"

"Yeah," Luffy said, distracted with what he was doing on the laptop.

Confused, Ace opened the door wider, peeking in. "Yeah, what? Yeah, you wanna come, or yeah, you want-" Seeing what Luffy was about to do, he came in fully, asking, "Why are you booking a train ticket to Mikasa?"

Luffy stopped what he was doing, giving Ace the new information about Zoro. "His sister gave me his info, and told me it was okay to come visit him. Can I go, Ace? Please?"

Ace put a hand to his chin. "I suppose it's ok, but you only know Zoro from online. If you're sure it's safe, I guess you can go. Just be very careful, okay?"

A big Luffy grin. "I will!"

"So anyway, you coming?" Ace asked.

"Yeah!" Luffy turned back to his laptop. "Just let me finish this, and I'll be out!"

"Alright, we'll be waiting for you in the kitchen," Ace said as he closed Luffy's bedroom door again.


	2. Hi, It's Me, Luffy

"And so he says he's coming here to see you from Sapporo," Kuina told Zoro as she helped him dress in another one of his oversized hoodies.

The eyes of a very tired and very sick young man turned to gaze up at his older sister. "...He did?..." 

"Yeah! Isn't that great?" She said as she pulled the hood down comfortably over his shoulders and back.

"...He can't see me like this..." Zoro said as she finished dressing him and pulled the blankets over him again.

"There you go again! He really wants to see you, Zoro! If you won't believe me, will you look at our chat history?" She said as she went into the bathroom to get a wet washcloth. As she was dampening it with cold water, she heard a loud thud, that sounded as if something had fallen from a high place. Dropping the cloth into the sink, she rushed back into the room to find Zoro lying sprawled on the floor, clutching his left arm. " _Zoro_!"

Kuina rushed to call a nurse, then kneeled on the floor near her brother, picking up his head and laying it on her lap. "Zoro! What happened!" 

"Wanna be able to walk...when he sees me..." Zoro tried to explain. "Damn... hurts..." He said, continuing to clutch his arm.

"He may not be here for a while though," Kuina said as two nurses entered to help her with Zoro. She spoke to them worriedly, "He fell trying to get out of bed. I think his arm may be broken."

The nurses called for a gurney, gently picking Zoro up and placing him onto it before wheeling him out of the room. Around an hour later, he was brought back in on another gurney. He was fast asleep, and a large cast was on his left arm. 

"While we were treating his arm, Roronoa-san had another seizure. We thought you needed to know," one of them said as they lay Zoro's limp body back into his bed, covering him with his blankets, and making sure to raise the railings.

"Something else needs to be done about his seizures. It's clear that his meds aren't working properly," Kuina said frankly.

"With his body in its weakened state, surgery, especially surgery that invasive, isn't really an option," the nurse said. "But we could talk to the doctors about adjusting his medication again."

"Please do that," Kuina sighed, moving to Zoro's side. She ran her hand through his hair, noticing that it was damp with sweat. 

Just then, Kuina heard a knock on the door of the room. A face she'd never seen before popped it's way in. He had black hair under a straw hat with a red ribbon around it. There was a scar with little stitch marks directly under his left eye; so close to it, that she wondered how he hadn't lost the eye.

"Hi, is this Roronoa Zoro's room?" The boyish-looking young man asked.

Kuina smiled warmly. "Yes, it is. You must be Luffy. I'm Kuina. We talked online."

"Nice to meet you!" The young man smiled cheerfully, speaking quietly as not to wake the man in the bed, whom he presumed was Zoro. His smiled faded as he walked over to the sleeping man. 

Kuina moved aside so that Luffy could get a good view of his friend. 

Gazing at his friend for the first time, Luffy noted that the thin, almost gaunt figure in the bed wore a hoodie that was so large, it seemed to almost swallow him up. His eyes were sunken too, with shadows under them, indicating his long battle with chronic illness.

"He didn't want you to see him like this. That's why he was hesitant to even tell you where he lived," Kuina explained. "He's recently had an epileptic seizure. He should awaken in a little while, but he'll be disoriented, so try not to startle him."

"Okay... Um... Can I sit here?" Luffy indicated a chair next to Zoro's bed.

"Sure! Sit as long as you like!" Kuina offered, taking another chair and sitting beside Luffy. "He should wake up soon. So, how does it feel to finally meet Zoro?"

"I always thought he was this really cool guy. And I was right, but he's cool for a different reason. It must be hard to be stuck in bed all the time. I bet he hates it."

Kuina admired Luffy's honesty. "Yeah..." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "He's been asking me if he'll ever get better..." Tears pricked her eyes, threatening to fall. "But I'm afraid that one day, he's going to go to sleep, and not wake up..." She choked back a heartwrenching sob, trying hard to be strong for her brother.

Luffy hesitantly reached up, putting his hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. He didn't want to try to console her with empty words like, 'It'll be okay', knowing it would probably be counterproductive. He didn't know any more than Kuina did what would happen to her brother, so he kept quiet and lent her his support.

After a while, he said, "I'm sorry," and sighed, pushing his hat off his head so that it hung behind him from its string. "Hopefully, he'll one day get better. But if there comes a day when he doesn't wake up anymore, at least you'll have some comfort knowing that he passed in his sleep and is no longer suffering."

"That's... That's a good way of looking at it, I guess..." Kuina sniffed, plucking a tissue from a box and wiping her eyes and nose. "I really want him to live as long as he can.... But in his condition.... Maybe I'm being selfish in wanting him to live."

"You're his sister. Of course you want him to live. There's nothing wrong with that. No matter what, you'll never be truly prepared to let him go." 

"I _love_ my little brother....I'm not _ready_ to let him go..." She admitted. "I know that one day soon, I may have to, but I really don't want to!" 

This time, she couldn't hold back her sobs. Luffy gathered her into his arms as she cried her heart out. He realized that Kuina had held in these feelings for far too long, and they were now rushing to the surface after having been bottled up for so long.

Immense relief flooded Kuina as she let out all the emotions she'd kept hidden for so many years. It didn't matter to her that she'd only known Luffy a short while. She whispered, "Why can't things just get better for him?..."

Luffy rubbed her back in soft, soothing circles. "I'm not sure... Sometimes shitty things happen to good people, and there's no rhyme or reason to it. I'm really sorry."

Kuina wiped her eyes. "Don't be... There's nothing we can do about it." She looked over to Zoro. "He's waking up."

Luffy looked over just in time to see his friend slowly open tired eyes. Eyes that took in their surroundings in a confused manner. He turned to Kuina and Luffy, looking them over as if he wasn't sure who they were. 

"After he has one of his seizures, when he wakes up, he gets like this for a while. The worse the seizure, the longer it takes for him to regain his bearings. Go ahead and talk to him. Let him know who you are," Kuina said, letting up the head of Zoro's bed so he could see his friend better.

"Zoro? Hi, it's me, Luffy," He said cheerfully. "I finally got to see you after wanting to for so long."

Zoro opened his mouth, obviously trying to force something out. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing something, anything to come from his lips, but there was nothing, so he closed it again in frustration.

"It's usually a while after he's had a seizure before he can speak again," Kuina told Luffy; sadness in her eyes. "Just keep talking to him. He'll be able to respond in a little bit."

"I came all the way from Sapporo to see you," Luffy said as Zoro's mouth moved as if he was chewing. Zoro looked at him, his mouth stilling again. "Please don't worry. I'd never abandon you just because of something like this." 

Kuina smiled warmly throughout the entire exchange. Luffy was just as she'd imagined he'd be. 

Luffy peered at the large, bulky cast peeking out of the left sleeve of Zoro's hoodie. It looked fresh, as though it were applied just today. "What happened to your arm?"

Zoro's breathing quickened as he tried his damnedest to speak a response. Though his mind was ever-so-slowly clearing, the words he needed were still locked up somewhere in his brain, seemingly in an area to which he had no access. In the end, a short, frustrated grunt was all he was able to utter.

Seeing this, Kuina spoke up then. "He broke it when he fell trying to get out of his bed earlier. He wanted to be able to walk for you. He didn't want you to see him like this." 

"Oh," Luffy whispered. He turned back to Zoro. "You don't have to push yourself for me. I don't care if you can walk or not. I like you no matter what you can or can't do." 

After nearly an hour since his seizure, something was finally coming to him. A name. Zoro squeezed his eyes shut once more. "Lllll... Llll... Llllluuu..." It seemed to him that the name was sticking to his tongue, and he was physically unable to pry it off. "Lllluuuuufffff..."

Luffy brightened as he realized that Zoro was trying his best to say his name. "C'mon, you can do it!"

"Lllluuuuufffff..." Zoro continued, trying his hardest to get that name off his tongue. "Lllllllluffy!" He was able to finally say; his head flopping back into his pillow as if all the effort he'd put in to say the name physically exhausted him.

"Yeah, that's me!" Luffy said; huge grin on his face. "Luffy!"

"...Luffy..." Zoro whispered, the name getting easier to say the more he enunciated it.

The grin on Luffy's face softened to a warm smile. "Feel better?"

Zoro sighed, rubbing the sleeve over his cast. "... Arm hurts..."

"They should have meds you can take for the pain," Luffy said helpfully. 

"Hate taking meds..." He told Luffy, leaning his head back into his pillow.

Kuina was beginning to feel like the proverbial third wheel, so she decided to leave the two friends in the room to get more comfortable with one another. She cleared her throat before speaking. "I'm going to leave you two alone for a few minutes while I go pick up something from the cafeteria. Anything you want, Luffy?" She already knew what Zoro liked. 

A smile lit Luffy's face. "Nah, I'm good."

Before taking her leave, she showed Luffy the nurse call button by Zoro's bed. To tell the truth, caring for her brother, although she loved him dearly, was emotionally and physically draining. Still, she'd care for him for as long as he needed her. Breaks like the one she was taking now, refreshed her mind and body, though it wasn't often that she got to take her leave in this way. 

Inserting some coins into a vending machine, she pressed the button for the drink she wanted, waiting for it to be dispensed. Grabbing it from the slot below, she took it with her to the counter where she then ordered a hot meal. She sat at a nearby table, picking up the provided disposable chopsticks, breaking them neatly in half. 

As she began to eat, she wondered should she have trusted Luffy with her brother. She'd only known him a short time, and Zoro only knew him from the internet. But then, he did seem to genuinely care for Zoro, and Zoro needed a good, caring friend so badly... Living in hospitals all his life hadn't really afforded him the freedom to make friends from the outside. She decided that she would trust Luffy. 

Wondering how they were getting along, she opened up and took a sip of her canned fruit juice.

\--------------------

Zoro turned to Luffy. "There's not much to do here..." He looked down at his hands as he spoke. "I'm not the cool guy you thought I was. I'm... sorry... for making you think otherwise."

Luffy chuckled. "You're still cool, ya know! Just in a different way than I thought!" He spotted a sketchpad on a nearby table within his reach. Before Zoro could stop him, he reached for it. Holding it in both hands, he asked, "Wow! Is this yours?"

"Yeah..." 

"You draw things in it?"

"...Yeah..."

After a moment, Luffy asked, "Can I look inside?"

Zoro's face took on a resigned appearance as he answered, as if he didn't really want to, but had no choice in the matter. "...Yeah... Go ahead..."

Luffy flipped open the pad, gazing into Zoro's drawing world. There were beautifully breathtaking colored pencil renderings, each of which indicated where Zoro spent most of his time. As he flipped pages, Luffy noticed one thing they all had in common. They were all the view from his room window. There were different times of the day, different seasons, and differing weather conditions, but they were all unmistakably the same view. 

"You don't get to leave your room much, do you," Luffy asked Zoro as he flipped slowly through the last pages, closing the book. It had been a beautiful, but ultimately heartbreaking, journey.

Zoro slowly shook his head. Turning to the window, he thought about things. He wanted to leave his room for something other than tests and painful treatments that always seemed to have an effect opposite of what they were supposed to have. His biggest dream was to be able to go outside. Feel the outside air all around him. Hear the birds sing. Smell the flowers, trees, and fresh cut grass. Know what tree bark feels like in his hands. Know how it feels to plunge his hands into fresh soil. What did the leaves feel like? The grass? What did it feel like to "get caught in the rain" as he'd heard the saying go? How big was the sky _really_?

Sure, some of this he could experience from his window, but it wasn't the same as being outdoors.

"What're you thinking about?" Luffy asked, putting the sketchbook down.

Without turning away from the window, Zoro told him. "I... wanna go outside. I wanna feel the breeze. See what rain feels like. I wanna see more flowers and trees. I wanna pick flowers and smell their scents. There's bark on trees.... What's it feel like? There're so many things I don't know, and have never experienced. I _want_. To. Go. Outside..."

Luffy remembered what Kuina had told him about Zoro being bedridden his whole life and frowned. "I wonder if it would be okay for me to take you to a nearby park?" Zoro whirled his head around as Luffy continued. "Just to see and feel things? Experience life outside of a hospital? Don't you wanna go?"

"I'd love to go! But..." Zoro trailed off, turning back toward the window again.

Luffy cocked his head, confused. "But what?"

Zoro sighed, looking down at his clasped hands which rested on his blanket-covered legs. "...I'm pretty much completely bedridden. I've only seen outside through windows and laptop screens. I've never been to a cafe, or a park." He looked at Luffy. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hidden it from you."

A pain lanced through Luffy's heart. "Didn't you have childhood friends when you were a kid in the hospital?"

"I did, but they've all passed now. I don't know how much longer I have left. They originally gave me ten years, but here I am, still living. If you can call this _living_." He lay his head back on the pillow behind his head.

Kuina had told him about the life limit once placed on her brother, but to hear Zoro confirm it, just made it all the more chilling. "Damn..."

Zoro smiled a small, weak smile. "I don't mean to chew your ear off, as the old people say. I don't wanna burden you with my problems. What about you? What's your life like?"

Luffy thought for a moment. His life was far from trouble-free, but at least he had good health, which was more than Zoro had. "Well, I have two older brothers who're three years older than me. Ace has black hair like mine, and Sabo has blond. They're kind of protective of me even though I'm no longer a kid."

"I know what you mean," Zoro agreed. He could feel another fever coming on, but he tried his best to hide how he was feeling. "Kuina's always been protective of me too. It's probably because I've been... sick... all my life. She-"

"Are you feeling okay?" Luffy interrupted his friend. "You look like you're not feeling well."

"I never feel _well_ , though some days I do feel okay," he told Luffy, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. "Today is admittedly _not_ one of those days..." He covered himself with his blanket. "I'm just so _tired_ of being sick..."

"I know..." Luffy stroked Zoro's hair. It was getting damp with sweat. He knew Zoro was running a fever. "Need me to call a nurse?"

Zoro shook his head. "This happens to me a lot. Once I ride it out, I'll be fine... I... I need to rest for a while. Will you be here when I wake up?"

"Yeah, I plan to stay here at least a week. I'm gonna book a hotel and everything," Luffy said. 

"That's good..." Was all Zoro said before closing his tired eyes. In less than a minute, he was asleep.

Luffy adjusted Zoro's bed and fluffed his pillow a bit, pulling his blanket up to his neck, tucking it around him. With Zoro now comfortable and breathing evenly, Luffy looked around his room. He noted that on a rolling bedtable there was Zoro's laptop, and on a shelf near his bed there was an assortment of books on nature and books on katana. On another table across the room, a little bowl containing a pink betta with red and blue fins, sat. On the same table, was a vase of cut flowers that looked as if they'd seen better days. There were a few more sketchbooks, messily stacked together, along with various art supplies on top of those. 

Luffy watched Zoro as he slept. He had tried to make Zoro as comfortable as possible, but even in his sleep, Zoro appeared to be in pain. He wondered what it was like to have to battle chronic illness every day of your existance. He wondered what it was like to feel _bad_ all the time. To never have a day when you felt _good_. He wondered whether the pain was due to his fever or his broken arm, or maybe just from being chronically ill overall.

Just then, Kuina knocked, quietly entering. Upon seeing Zoro asleep in his bed, she said, "Even when he sleeps, he's in a lot of pain. He doesn't want to take the meds that would lessen the pain somewhat, so I just don't know what to do..."

Luffy thought for a moment, then turned to Kuina. "Aren't you his legal guardian or something like that though? Can't you _make_ him take his meds?"

"Legally, yes. I could. But he has so many other things he's forced to do, I don't want to pressure him into taking meds he doesn't want as well. Besides, they only help so much. Not to mention the side effects of a lot of them," she said, using a cool cloth to wipe the sweat from her little brother's brow.

Luffy turned back to Zoro. It was a long while before he spoke again. "How long are his naps, usually?"

"Before he went to sleep, did he suddenly express a need for a nap?" Kuina asked him.

Luffy grew apprehensive. "...Yeah..."

"When he gets like that, where he needs a sudden nap, he sleeps anywhere from two to four hours. Sometimes more. And it's hard to wake him back up. More often than not, I let him sleep however long he needs to." Kuina set the cloth down on the rolling table, picking up a thermometer which she gently placed under his arm. "The scary thing is, his naps over the last few months have gotten longer and more frequent. I don't want to see that as a bad sign, but I can't help but think that it is." After a minute, she pulled out the temperature measuring instrument, checking it's reading. "37.2. Good. It's still high, but not dangerously so. If he sleeps when he has a fever, it usually will go down some. I only make him take meds if he goes into the danger zone." 

"What's the danger zone?" Luffy asked her, picking up the cool cloth and swabbing Zoro's forehead with it just as she had done.

"Anything 38 degrees or above," Kuina replied. "Swab his eyelids too. That'll make him feel better."

Luffy did as he was told. "I hope that maybe one day, someone can make something that'll help him feel better permanently." 

She sighed. "I hope so too."

\--------------------

Eyes opened to dimmed lights in his room. Glancing out of the window, he took in the darkening evening sky with its brightly twinkling stars. He could feel his sister's presence, even before she spoke. Luffy was still there too, dozing comfortably in a chair.

"Feeling any better?" She asked gently. "You slept nearly four hours this time."

"A little..." He said. His fever was nearly gone, and the ache in his arm had subsided a bit, so he did feel a little better.

"That's good," Kuina smiled sadly, combing her fingers through her brother's short, spiky locks. Her hand slid down to his cheek where she stroked it with her thumb. "I wish there were something I could do to make you feel a lot better."

"Just you and Luffy being here is enough," he said, closing his eyes again. Grabbing the control for his bed, he let up the head until he was sitting. Outside his window, a small, grey owl was sitting in the bare branches of the tree, hooting quietly. 

"Let me go outside," He said suddenly. They were simple words, but Kuina could not help but fall speechless. This was the first time Zoro had openly asked to go outside. Though she knew that he wanted to so badly, he'd never asked. It was just like Zoro. Pushing down the pain and his wants. But this time he'd actually said what he wanted.

Kuina observed her younger brother gazing out of the window as he usually did. Knowing how much he longed to leave his room and go outside, even if it was just once in his life, she'd consulted his doctors on numerous occasions about taking him outdoors. So far, they'd always refused, saying it wouldn't be good for his already precarious health.

"I'll... consult your doctors again," Kuina conceded, sighing. "But please don't be too disappointed if they deny your request. You haven't been in the best of health these days."

"And that's why I need to go," Zoro remarked, and Kuina knew he wasn't just talking about his physical health. He knew that being cooped up in a hospital their whole life wasn't good for a person's mental state either.

"I'll let them know how you feel about that. But for now, you need to get more rest. Your fever isn't quite gone yet." Kuina covered him back up and let down the head of his bed.

Nodding, he closed his eyes. Despite the long nap he'd had, he was still so very tired. 


	3. Wanna Go Outside

When Luffy came back the next day, Zoro was sitting up in his bed. He was once again gazing out of his window, Cinnamoroll plushie in his arms. Luffy called to his friend. The look on Zoro's face when he turned from the window, a mixture of sadness, frustration, and desperation, told Luffy all he needed to know.

"They declined your request to go outside."

Zoro lowered his head, his heartfelt hopes having been crushed by the doctors with their good, but misplaced, intentions. "My health comes before my _whims_ , they said. They scolded me. Imagine that. Scolded me for wanting to go outside and live life instead of just existing in a hospital."

To hear all this, saddened Luffy. "You'd think they'd want you to have what's best for you."

"They seem to feel as if this," He made a sweeping gesture to indicate his room and bed. "Is what's best for me..." Zoro sighed. "They mean well, I guess, but it's really wearing on my sanity. It's not doing my physical health any better either."

Luffy shrugged off his backpack, opening it, and reaching inside. "Maybe this will help you feel better about your situation." He pulled out a large, plastic ziplock baggie filled with colorful autumn leaves, handing it to Zoro. "I picked them up on my way here!"

The ecstatic smile that lit up Zoro's face as he opened the baggie and dug his hands in, made picking up all those leaves worth the trouble for Luffy. 

"Autumn leaves! Thanks, Luffy!"

"But wait! There's more!" Luffy jokingly said as he reached into the backpack again, pulling out a small branch and a few leafless twigs, which Zoro received gratefully. "When it snows, I'll get you a bucket of that too."

"Could you? I've only seen snow through my window," Zoro confessed. "I want to hold some so bad! They don't even let me keep my window open when it's that cold. After a while it fogs up cause of the heat inside. I wish they'd just let me go out there."

"I know! Playing in snow is fun!" Luffy sat in a chair next to Zoro's bed. "So where's Kuina?"

"Bathroom. She should be back any minute now," Zoro replied, stretching his arms above his head. "I feel okay today. No fevers so far, and only two seizures. I-"

"Two?!" Luffy interrupted, concerned. "Can't they give you some medicine to stop them?"

"I _do_ take meds for them, but I still have them," Zoro told him, a little embarrassed to have to admit it. "I used to have them more often, now they're down to about two to three a day."

Horrified wasn't the word to describe how Luffy felt. " _Three?!_ Isn't there some kind of surgery they can do to help you?" 

"My body wouldn't be able to handle that kind of surgery." Zoro reached for his sketchbook., opening it up to a blank page. "At least the seizure meds work somewhat. I'm just happy they work at all. And Kuina told me that she recently had them adjust them again, so there's that."

"Are your seizures the violent type?" 

"Grand mal? Yeah, for the most part."

Luffy looked at the padding on the bed railings, suddenly understanding why they had to be there. "Damn... But I thought you didn't like taking meds?"

"I don't normally, but I _need_ my seizure meds. The other meds are unnecessary." Zoro took out his well-used coloring pencils, beginning to sketch the baggie with it's numerous overlapping leaves.

"You're a lefty?" Luffy asked as he watched his friend.

Without looking up, Zoro answered. "Mostly, yeah. Though there're some things I can do right-handed." The pencil took that opportunity to slip out of his hand, plopping down onto the soft comforter. Sighing in frustration, he frowned as he picked it back up. "It's hard to draw with my hand in a cast. Damnit..."

"Zoro I- Oh! Hi Luffy! I didn't know you were here," Kuina greeted cheerfully, coming through the doorway. 

"Hi Kuina," Luffy greeted back from where he sat. "Zoro told me what the doctors said."

"Yeah, they gave him an earful," Kuina told him, sitting down. "Though, to be fair, most days he's not feeling well at all, so I kind of understand where they're coming from. Still, being bedridden, day in and day out, can't be good for him either."

Zoro sighed, setting aside his half-finished drawing. "If I am gonna die one day, I'd like to get outdoors at least once before that happens."

Surprised by what he'd just said, both Kuina's and Luffy's heads whirled around to face Zoro. It was unlike Zoro to think of his own mortality. Usually, he spoke of getting better and living a normal life. This was the first time Zoro had ever spoken of dying, that Kuina had known of.

He continued. "What? Even I know it'll probably happen one day. I'm hoping one day I'll get better and be able to finally leave this place. I dream of leaving, but I know I'll probably never be able to." 

Hearing Zoro speak that way, left Luffy heartbroken. Zoro had a dream. A simple dream. But it was a dream that would most likely never be realized. Sadness filled Luffy's heart at Zoro's next words:

"Why do they wanna keep me here? Do they even realize what they're doing?" He sighed, looking down at his hands. "It's like I'm some kind of lab specimen."

Kuina recalled a time when she was a little girl, she had wondered why her little brother couldn't come back home and live with the rest of the family. It had broken her heart to hear him cry and beg them to take him with them whenever she and her parents had to leave the hospital after visiting hours were over. 

As she'd grown older, the full gravity of her brother's situation weighed on her heart. She hated to have to one day let him go, but she didn't want him to suffer much longer either. Over the years, she'd grown closer to her younger brother, despite the fact that circumstances hadn't always permitted them to see each other everyday. After their parents passed, she took on the responsibility of caring for Zoro's needs, juggling his care within the hospital, work, and school to the best of her ability.

"Oh Zoro... Please don't feel that way." Kuina hugged her little brother. "If it really matters to you that much, we'll find a way for you to be able to go outdoors."

Hugging her back, he took a deep breath, letting it out again. "It _does_ really matter to me..."

"Then we'll get you outside somehow." Kuina rubbed his back before pulling away. "Where do you want to go?"

"Luffy mentioned a park..." Zoro muttered.

Kuina nodded with determination. "Then we'll take you to a park." 

Luffy caught a glimpse of gold on Zoro's wrist just then. "What was that?" He asked, eyeing Zoro's sleeve covered arm.

Kuina was puzzled, wondering what Luffy was talking about. "What's what?"

Luffy pulled up Zoro's right sleeve. "This. It looks like... a gold bracelet?..."

"Oh, that!" A warm smile lit Kuina's face. "My mother bought that for me to give to Zoro when we were younger. I have a matching one. That way, when we weren't able to see each other, we could look at our bracelets and think of one another."

Thinking this was really sweet, Luffy took a closer look at the bracelet, turning Zoro's wrist around. The bracelet was of a size to fit a child's wrist, and it was engraved with Kuina's name. "It looks tight. Does it hurt? How do you take it off?" Luffy asked, noting that it was all one piece with no separations.

Zoro smiled, holding up his wrist to admire the snug piece of jewelry. "I can't remove it anymore. When I was a kid, I never took it off, and wore it so much that I grew into it. By the time I realized what had happened, it was stuck. It's been like this for years. It doesn't bother me though. It was a present from my Mom and Kuina, so at least this way, I can't lose it."

"Wow..."

"I took mine off years ago, but I put it on a chain that I still wear to this day." Kuina pulled out the necklace in question from her shirt, showing it to Luffy, the little golden bracelet dangling from the chain. It was engraved with Zoro's name. "It would most likely still fit if I could get my hand through. I can't get mine on anymore for the same reason Zoro can't get his off." A chuckle sprang forth from her lips.

Luffy chuckled as well. If Zoro didn't mind being stuck with the bracelet, then he wasn't going to let it bother him either.

\--------------------

"Hey Zoro~!" Luffy greeted as he walked through the door of Zoro's room. He put down the grocery bag he'd been carrying.

"Hey Luffy," Zoro greeted back from where he was sitting up in his bed. Although he didn't feel as good as he had the day before, he still felt okay. "What's up?"

"Not much, but I brought you something." Luffy walked over to Zoro's bed. "I know it's almost winter, but look!" He pulled out of the grocery bag two half-pints of ice cream, setting them down on the rolling table. "Where's Kuina? I have one for her too."

"She's snagging a meal in the cafeteria," Zoro told him. "She'll be back in a minute. Had to reassure her that I could be alone for a few minutes."

"I see. Anyway, I didn't know what flavor you liked so I brought you vanilla," Luffy opened the container in question, grabbing a baggie of spoons from his backpack, sticking one in. He handed it to Zoro. "Bon Appetit!"

Zoro slowly dug into the soft confection, hesitantly bringing the spoon to his lips. 

Luffy paused from consuming his chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, looking up at Zoro. "What's wrong, Zoro?"

Luffy had gone through the trouble of bringing him ice cream. He couldn't just not eat it. Despite knowing what it would do to his gut later, he smiled, sticking the spoon into his mouth. "It's nothing. This is really good!"

"Isn't it?" Luffy gushed. "You've been so sick, I wanted to get something to make you feel better. And what's better than ice cream!"

A warm smile graced Zoro's features at Luffy's kind gesture. He couldn't bring himself to tell Luffy about his problem. "Yeah! I haven't had ice cream in a long time." He scooped more into his mouth, feeling the delicious, cold goodness melt on his tongue and slide down his throat. 

After a few minutes, Zoro finished his container, burrowing himself under his blankets. "Ice cream makes me cold..."

"Yeah, me too." Luffy rubbed his arms despite the long sleeve shirt he wore.

It wasn't long after that, that Kuina quietly entered the room, setting down her bag. Spotting the ice cream containers on the table, she asked worriedly, "Please don't tell me you brought Zoro ice cream?" She checked the empty containers, hoping that Zoro hadn't eaten any.

"Yeah, I did... Is something wrong?" Luffy asked, face reflecting her worry.

"Yes! Something is very wrong!" Kuina said as she moved the containers off the table. "Zoro is lactose intolerant. _Extremely_ lactose intolerant. Didn't he tell you?"

"No, he didn't say anything!" Luffy said, just as a groan emitted from the pile of blankets Zoro was burrowed under. He turned to his friend.

"He meant well, Kuina..." Zoro said between groans, his nausea and abdominal cramps growing worse with each minute. "He was so happy to try to make me feel better... I couldn't spoil things for him..." 

"You still could have said something though." Kuina sighed, running a hand through her short hair. "There are other things he could've done to make you feel better."

"He did seem hesitant to eat it at first," Luffy admitted sadly. "But when I asked what was wrong, he told me it was nothing! I'm sorry, Zoro! I didn't know!"

"... Don't be... Kuina's right... I should've said something." Zoro clutched his stomach, writhing in pain. "Shit... I should be able to beat something like this..."

"No, Little Brother. You can't beat your illnesses through willpower alone." She rubbed his back through the blankets. "And Luffy?"

"Yeah?..." He said hesitantly. 

"Before you bring him anything to eat again, make sure you check with me or his doctors first, okay?" She said gently. "He has dietary restrictions that need to be followed. He has some food allergies too, so be sure to check with me or his doctors."

"Okay... I'm really sorry, Zoro," Luffy said just as Zoro unleashed gas from the dairy churning his gut. Luffy turned to Kuina. "I had some for you too, but... I guess it's juice cream now," He muttered, glancing at the bag with the remaining half-pint still inside.

"That's the one thing Zoro and I have in common. I'm also lactose intolerant, though mine is milder than his, so I either take meds to stop the symptoms, or consume lactose-free products," she said, getting up to get something for Zoro to help ease his symptoms. "If you want to get Zoro ice cream again in the future, make sure it's lactose-free, okay?"

Luffy sighed. Despite not having been aware of Zoro's problem, he still felt pretty bad. "Okay."


	4. Sparkle!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A four-legged friend comes to see Zoro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mac is a betta I had many years ago. He's gone now, but he lives on in this fic

"Zoro~!" Luffy greeted cheerfully as he walked into the room, only to have Kuina shush him as he did so.

"Shhh... He's not really feeling well today, so please keep your voice down, okay?" She sat rubbing slow circles on Zoro's back, Zoro lying burrowed under his blankets, facing the wall.

Concern painted Luffy's face. "What's wrong with him?" He moved over to the bed.

"He woke up this morning with a high fever and nausea." Kuina covered her brother with another blanket, before getting up off the bed, sliding the railings up to keep him safe. "I tried to coax him into eating something earlier, but he didn't feel up to eating much. Then unfortunately, a little before you arrived, he had another seizure. A really bad one this time. I'm hoping he'll wake up soon, but I've seen times where he didn't awaken for nearly two hours after a bad seizure. It takes a long time after that for him to get his speech back."

"Is that normal?" Luffy asked, sitting down in a chair near Kuina and Zoro.

Kuina sighed with worry for her brother. "Not usually, not even for him. The doctors don't know what's wrong either. It's almost a waiting game, and it's so frustrating." Kuina said in a low, but desperate tone.

Luffy leaned forward to gaze at Zoro's sleeping face. It wasn't a peacefully sleeping face by any means. It was the face of someone who'd suffered with chronic illnesses for far longer than he should have had to. 

She continued, trying her best to keep the tears at bay. "He's had some meds to bring down his fever, but so far, they don't seem to be helping."

Luffy got up, going to the bathroom to wet a cloth with cold water. When he returned, he swabbed Zoro's burning face and neck with it, which seemed to sooth him. After a moment, he no longer appeared to be in dire pain, instead, appearing to relax somewhat. "I think this is doing the trick, for now anyway."

"Thanks Luffy, I can take it from here." After a moment, she noticed the cloth had warmed, so she said, "Luffy, would you mind getting me a basin of cold water? I need it to keep the cloth cold."

Luffy looked around, spotting a pink hospital basin near Zoro's bed. Taking it into the bathroom, he filled it with cold water. Bringing it back to Kuina, he set it down on the rolling table.

"Thank you," she said gratefully, dunking the cloth, then squeezing it out. She continued to swab Zoro's face while Luffy picked at his shirt, worrying the fabric with his fidgeting.

"Will he... Is he gonna be okay?" Luffy asked, his stomach churning with worry.

A troubled frown knit Kuina's brows. "I... don't know... We'll have to see how things are when he wakes up."

When Zoro finally awoke, he'd slept a little more than an hour and a half. As usually happened when he woke up after a seizure, his voice had deserted him, and confusion riddled his brain. Lying on his back, he watched quietly as Kuina covered him with his blanket up to his shoulders, tucking him in. She raised the head of the bed to his liking.

"He's tired of being in bed all the time, huh?" Luffy said. 

"He does, but the doctors think that that's what's best for him. He can't even walk anymore, he's been bedridden so long... He _so_ wishes to get out and live and enjoy life instead of just existing..."

Luffy brow knitted into a frown of worry. "Was he born like this?" 

"Yes. He was a very sickly infant and toddler, then around the time he turned three, we took him to the long-term children's hospital, where he'd lived until he was placed here at this hospital. Since he was so young at the time, hospitals are all he's ever known."

"To think, I almost never got to meet you guys," Luffy said, thinking of Zoro's previous life limit. "But I'm glad I did." 

"We're happy to have met you too. I know he is, especially." Kuina reached over and pulled Zoro's hood up over his head as the latter closed his weary eyes.

"How long has he had that comforter?" Luffy asked, noting the large, happy picture of Cinnamoroll printed on the top. Lifting the corner revealed a Cinnamoroll print on the other side. 

"Mmm, since he was about five or six, I think," Kuina said, trying to remember the exact time it had been given to him. "I was the one who got Mom to buy it for him, along with his Cinnamoroll plushie. They're like his treasures."

"He's had them that long?" Luffy asked, surprised. "They're really clean for something that old."

Kuina shrugged. "Well, he's pretty much lived his whole life in his bed, so..."

Zoro opened feverish eyes. Thanks to the meds and Kuina and Luffy's efforts, his fever was out of the danger zone, but he still felt terrible. Actually, _terrible_ wasn't quite a strong enough word to describe how he felt right now. 

The confusion still riddling his brain, he couldn't make sense of what Luffy and Kuina were talking about. He hated this part of his seizures more than the seizures themselves. His brain was jumbled, and try as he might, he couldn't speak. At least, not for a long while. If he tried to force it before the confusion cleared, it would take that much longer to clear.

Even though Kuina tried her best to keep her worry out of her voice, he could still sense it, and that in turn, worried _him_ , stressing him out, and making the comeback of his speech that much more distant. He moaned plaintively, looking up at Kuina. 

"There's something he wants to say, but because of the after effects of the seizure, he can't get it out." She reached over the padded railings of his bed to hug her brother. "I'm sorry, Zoro... It'll come back soon, I promise."

Luffy watched the goings-on, anguish filling his heart. It hurt him to the very depths of his soul to see Zoro in so much pain, physically, mentally, and emotionally. He really wanted to be the one to comfort Zoro, to tell him that things would be okay. But Kuina was his sister, and they had a special bond. He couldn't rightly intrude on that. 

Despite knowing that his speech wasn't coming back until he stopped fighting the swirl of confusion in his mind, he moaned again, balling his hands into fists under the blankets. He quickly shook his head, despite the remnants of the fever still burning his face. If he couldn't say what was floating out of reach of his senses... 

"Try to relax, Zoro... Just let it slowly come back to you..." Kuina stroked his sweat-damp hair under the hood. 

Zoro closed his eyes, trying his best to de-stress, and relax enough to let his words float back into his mind. After what seemed like an eternity, he was able to say, "... I'm... tired of living like this..." He took a deep breath, letting it out in a quick puff. He'd lost what he'd originally wanted to say.

"Hey Zoro," Luffy began, laying his hand on Zoro's still warm shoulder. "It's s'posed ta snow in the next couple days. I'll make sure to bring you a bucket, like I promised."

Zoro turned to gaze out of his window, noting that the clouds were slowly rolling in. Probably the snow clouds that Luffy had been speaking of. This was the first time in his life he'd ever looked forward to snow. "...Are those snow clouds?"

Luffy looked out of the window at the heavy clouds beginning to cover the sky. He turned to Zoro. "I think so...." He looked again. "But then, they could be rain clouds. Sometimes it's hard to tell."

Zoro removed his arms from under the comforter, slowly stretching them into the air out of sheer boredom. "Damnit..." He whispered. 

"What's wrong?" Luffy asked, turning back to Zoro.

"Just bored..." Zoro sighed, clasping his hands together. "I wanna do something other than sit here, being sick." He paused for a second. "Kuina? I need to feed Mac. Can you bring him to me?"

Kuina smiled jovially. "Sure can!"

"Mac?" Luffy asked puzzled, but then he understood when he saw Kuina grab the fish bowl from the small table across the room from Zoro's bed. She handed the fish and food to Zoro.

Luffy looked through the bowl at the pink betta with red and blue fins inside. "He's really pretty. Where you get him?"

"Kuina bought him for me about three years ago." Zoro smiled down at the fish in it's bowl. "I can't have a dog or cat here, so this is the next best thing. They do bring therapy dogs to the hospital every couple of weeks though, so there's that. Speaking of the therapy dogs..." He turned to Kuina. "When's the next time they're scheduled to come?"

"I think it's today, actually, because they cancelled last week." She checked the calendar on her phone. "Yeah, it's later today."

Despite how bad he felt, a big grin lit up Zoro's face. A grin neither Luffy nor Kuina were used to seeing. "Yeah!"

Kuina chuckled lightly. "The therapy dogs make Zoro happy," She said to Luffy.

"I can tell," Luffy said as he observed his friend still grinning. It surprised Luffy that Zoro had dimples. "What time are they supposed to arrive?"

"This afternoon around three." Kuina put her phone into her bag. "They usually visit bedridden patients like Zoro first, before they move on the rest of the patients. While Zoro likes all the dogs, he's kind of partial to one they call Sparkle."

Zoro piped up excitedly from where he sat in his bed. "I _love_ Sparkle!"

"What kind of dog is Sparkle?" Luffy asked, wanting to see the dog almost as much as Zoro did.

"He's some kind of black and white, long haired, mixed breed dog." Kuina told him. "Sparkle loves Zoro, so they usually bring him to see Zoro exclusively. I wish the hospital would let him have a dog, I'd pay a lot of money to buy him for Zoro. He makes Zoro so happy!"

"What time is it now?" Zoro asked impatiently, getting tired of waiting for his friend to arrive.

Kuina chuckled. "Don't worry Zoro! It's 2:37 now. It won't be much longer."

Wishing he could pace the floor, but knowing he couldn't, he handed the fish bowl back to Kuina before stretching his arms again. "Damn, I wanna get outta bed."

Luffy didn't understand. "But you're not even feeling well. Why do you wanna get outta bed?"

"'Cause I'm _always_ in bed. Gets tiring after so long..." Zoro gazed out of the window, just in time to see a few snow flurries fall. He knew that it wasn't sticking snow, but it was nice to see them anyway. He wanted to stick his hand outside the window to see if he could catch some, but his window was locked closed because of the season.

Wanting to see how cold it was outdoors, Zoro lay his hand on the window pane. "Feels like it's really cold out there."

"Yeah, the temp's s'posed ta drop down to freezing later," Luffy said, concern in his voice. "Maybe it's a good thing you can't get outside."

"I still wanna go outside, no matter how cold it gets," Zoro told him, a bit annoyed with what Luffy had said. "Kuina, let my railings down, I wanna try to walk again."

"No, Little Brother. Did you forget about how you got that cast on your arm?" Kuina asked, wondering how he could have forgotten what had happened the other day already.

"It just caught me by surprise that time, 'cause I hadn't walked in so long," Zoro tried to reason. "This time, I really feel like I can do it."

"If you were well, you'd be able to walk, but they keep you in bed because you're sick. You didn't eat breakfast today, and had very little lunch." Kuina placed her hands on her hips. "What makes you think you're well enough to walk?" 

Zoro opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, knowing she was right. Besides, even though he'd only been able to stomach a small meal, he still didn't feel hungry, even now. Eating in that manner would do nothing for any walking strength he may have already had. He sighed heavily, turning back to the window.

Kuina looked at her watch. "The therapy dogs should be here any minute."

A gasp was heard from Zoro, and a bright smile lit his face as he turned his head again. Soon, there was a knock on his door, Kuina telling the person on the other side to come in. As soon as the little black and white dog entered...

_"Sparkle!"_

"He's _so_ excited to see you too, Zoro!" The dog handler greeted in a friendly manner. "Hi Kuina! I see you two have a new visitor today!" She placed the wiggling dog into Zoro's waiting arms.

"Hi, I'm Luffy! I'm Zoro's friend he met online!" Luffy introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Luffy!"

As the dog excitedly licked Zoro's warm, feverish face, Zoro spoke quietly to the dog. "Hi, Sparkle! I'm so happy you came to visit me today! I'm not feeling well, but I'm glad to see you! You and Luffy make me feel better! Yes, you _do_ ~!"

Kuina commented to Luffy, "See how happy he makes Zoro? In that way, Sparkle is like you!"

Zoro held the dog up, saying, "Gimme kiss~!" Despite how badly Zoro felt, he still smiled as Sparkle licked his nose in response. After a while, Sparkle settled down between Zoro and the padded bed railings, placing his head in Zoro's lap. Zoro slowly stroked the dog's silky fur. He closed his eyes as the gentle stroking motion calmed him.

"I love this dog... I wish I could have him as my own," Zoro uttered quietly.

Spying the cast on Zoro's arm, the dog handler spoke up then. "What happened to your arm, Zoro?"

"I tried to get out of bed and walk. That didn't go so well," Zoro told her as Sparkle nuzzled himself under the blankets. Zoro turned to him, petting him sweetly. "You wanna snuggle with me? Yes, you do~!" 

"I brought Sparkle's favorite book if you want to read to him," the dog handler said as she unzipped a navy blue tote bag with white carry straps, pulling out a large children's hardcover, handing it to Zoro. 

"Thanks!" Zoro exclaimed, reaching for the book with both hands. Once he had it, it took a second for him to open it with his casted hand. When it was open, he read the title to the dog. "Green Eggs and Ham." Turning the page, he began to read in a soft, rhythmic voice, the dog giving him his full attention. 

As Zoro read to the dog, Kuina turned to Luffy. In a hushed voice, she told him, "Zoro loves reading to Sparkle. Makes him forget, just for a little while, that he can't get out of bed."

Luffy tried to imagine himself being as sick as Zoro was, having to battle constant illness. He tried to imagine being sick every day, tried to imagine never knowing what he'd feel like when he awoke on any given day. He tried to put himself in Zoro's shoes, and found that, not being chronically ill himself, he couldn't really do so. He frowned and refocused on what Kuina was saying.

Kuina continued. "The only times he gets to leave his bed, is when they need to run tests on him. Something he's always hated. And even then, he's wheeled everywhere he needs to go on a gurney. So in a way, he's always in bed even when he's not."

Unable to think of anything to say, Luffy watched Zoro interact with his favorite dog.

Zoro read the last page of the book before closing it, setting it on the rolling table, and yawning widely. He turned to the dog who began licking him on his chin and cheek. "You liked that, didn't you?" He said sweetly to the dog. He let down the head of the bed. He was tired again, so he gathered the dog close to him, closing his eyes. 

It felt nice to have someone he loved and cherished close to him as he slept. He knew that when he woke up, Sparkle would be gone for another two weeks, so he treasured his friend while he could. 

The dog handler waited until Zoro was sound asleep before she gently unwrapped Zoro's arm from around the dog, snapping the leash onto his collar. She then picked up Sparkle, setting him onto the floor. She stood again to cover Zoro with his blankets.

"Thank you so much for bringing Sparkle to see Zoro again," Kuina said appreciatively. "You don't know how much it means to my little brother."

"I'm just happy that I could bring a little joy into Zoro's life in the hospital." The dog handler smiled as she collected the book from Zoro's table. "If the weather permits, I should be back in two weeks."

"Zoro will be happy to see you," Kuina said as she stood to open the door. "Goodbye, and thank you again!"

When the door was closed again, Luffy asked, "How long have they been bringing Sparkle to see Zoro?"

"Zoro was still in the children's hospital when Sparkle was introduced to him as a puppy. Zoro was twelve at the time, and very sick that particular day. Sparkle really cheered him up that day, and they've been inseparable ever since. To this day, it brings them immense joy to see each other."

"Wow, I kinda wish I'd known Zoro that long." Luffy said. 

"Seeing how much Zoro likes you, I wish he'd met you sooner too." Kuina tucked her younger brother in, making sure to tuck in his Cinnamoroll plushie too. She kissed Zoro on his forehead. "Have a nice nap, Little Brother."


	5. Conjoined Twins

"Damn. I feel like I'm the only person in the entire world who's forced to stay locked up indoors," Zoro grumbled one morning as he sat up in bed, looking out of his window. Snow was gently falling, slowly piling up on the ground. "I know I'm not, but it sure feels like it some days."

"I know, but since it's snowing today, maybe Luffy can bring you some. That should help you feel at least a little bit better." Kuina said, handing Zoro a cup of hot tea.

Receiving the cup in his hands, Zoro gently blew on the surface of the beverage, trying to cool it down some, before cautiously taking a sip. He sighed, lowering the drink to rest in his lap. He was the only one in his whole family who suffered from chronic illness. Why couldn't he have been born healthy like his sister? 

Just then, he heard a quiet knock on his door, and he turned his head excitedly, expecting to see Luffy. He was disappointed though, as it was only a nurse coming to take his morning vitals.

"Good morning, Zoro!" the nurse said cheerfully, moving over to Zoro's bed. He removed the cup of tea from Zoro's hands. 

Zoro sighed. "'Morning..."

"Let me just get your vitals real quick..." He said as he went on to take Zoro's blood pressure, temperature, and pulse. After a few minutes, he said, "All done, though you're running a bit of a fever again. I'll bring you back some meds to take, okay?"

Zoro quietly grunted an affirmative. As the nurse left, he let loose a sigh, which then turned into a yawn. Hearing another quiet knock on the door, he wondered how the nurse had gotten the meds so quick. Who he actually saw come in made a smile light up his face.

_"Luffy!"_

Zoro's eyes travelled down to what Luffy was carrying. It was a large mop bucket piled high with white, fluffy snow from outside. Luffy shed his thick parka that he wore over a long sleeved sweatshirt and his fur-trimmed shorts. He also sported a pair of snow boots, which was unusual for him.

"Hi Kuina! Hi Zoro! Sorry I'm late! It's _cold_ out there!" Luffy apologized as he moved to Zoro's bed. "I promised, I delivered!" He thumbed at his reddened nose just as he handed the bucket to Zoro. "Here! Stick your hands in _that!_ "

The outside of the bucket was cold, but not as cold as the contents, Zoro noted as he happily plunged his hands into the freezing white fluffiness. A little of it got onto his comforter as he moved his hands around in the bucket, packing some into a tight snowball. Kuina lay a towel in Zoro's lap to catch any more.

"Hi Luffy. This bucket is clean, right?" Kuina asked, worrying about her brother's fragile health.

"Oh yeah, I bought it just for today, and I washed it before I filled it, so there should be no problems!" Luffy told her, before turning back to Zoro. "So how do you like snow? This is the first time you've ever been able to feel and play with it, isn't it?"

"I love it! I just wish I could play outside!" Zoro said as he shaped some of the snow into a flat disc.

Luffy grinned. "Like making snow angels?"

Zoro nodded. "Yeah! And throw snowballs. I heard people do that when it snows." He finished his creation, showing it to Luffy. It was three flattened snowballs pressed together. "Snowburger, anyone?" 

Luffy clapped his hands, laughing heartily. "Take a bite!"

"Really? I didn't think snow would be edible." Even so, Zoro took a nibble. It tasted rather like unflavored shaved ice. Taking another small bite, letting it melt in his mouth, he added, "It's actually refreshing!"

"I know, right? Also, catching snowflakes on your tongue is always fun. Oh! I can't believe I almost forgot! I brought something else for you!" Luffy remembered, unzipping, reaching in, and digging around in his backpack. After a moment, he pulled out a teal Nintendo Switch Lite, and an Animal Crossing: New Horizons game. Watching Zoro's face light up, as if he were a child at Christmas time, Luffy spoke again. "In this game, your character can run around outdoors catching bugs and fish that fill your collection, and you have lots of animal villagers you can talk to!" He handed Zoro the items, watching as the latter received them gratefully. He moved the bucket of melting snow. "I can show you what to do and give you tips if you need any help."

Zoro looked over the gently-used Switch Lite. "Where'd you get this?"

"It's Ace's. He doesn't play it anymore so he gave it to me, and now I'm giving it to you!"

"I've played video games before, but never on my own system." Zoro said. "Thank you, Luffy!"

"No problem! Oh yeah, you'll need the charger!" Luffy said as Zoro opened the game, staring at it a moment before slipping it into the system. Opening his bag once more, Luffy pulled out the charger. Inserting the charger into the charging slot in bottom of the system, he plugged the other end into the wall. "You can play it while it charges."

Zoro turned the system on, waiting for it to boot. After adjusting the settings, he entered the game. After several minutes of playing, he said, "I named my islander Kitetsu. And my starter fruit is cherries, and my flowers are windflowers."

"Really? My starter fruit was apples. I use ta like apples until one time when they were all I had to eat for a while." Luffy pulled out his own coral-colored Switch Lite system.

"Really? I liked apples okay, but they make me queasy lately, so I can't eat them now unless they're cooked. I do like apple pie though it has to be gluten free... Actually, everything needs to be gluten, dairy, and pretty much phthalate free... It sucks. Anyway, what's your islander's name?"

"Luffy? What else would I name him?" Luffy asked, confused.

Zoro smiled. "Of course!" 

"Oh yeah! Get a bug net as soon as possible. It helps you catch the wasps that fall from the trees, and some bugs go for really high amounts of bells, including the wasps. So get one as soon as you can, okay?" 

"I will."

Luffy went on. "For the most part, you'll need a shovel, a bug net, and a slingshot. Oh! And a fishing pole. The ax and watering can are somewhat more optionable."

"Don't you mean optional?" Zoro asked, not looking up from the game.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Luffy said, turning on his system and letting it boot up. "Actually, go to the airport and open your gates so I can visit your island. Then I can give you what you need so you don't have to buy them."

Zoro did as he was told, opening his gates for Luffy.

\--------------------

"Zoro?" 

Luffy had just come back from lunch, to see Kuina changing Zoro's hoodie. Apparently, Zoro hadn't been able to hold down his lunch, and had gotten sick all over the front of his shirt. That wasn't what caught Luffy's attention, however, as Kuina removed the shirt from her sleeping brother. What caught his attention was the huge diagonal scar etched into Zoro's chest. Wondering what had happened to cause such a scar, he asked Kuina, "What happened to Zoro's chest?"

Kuina threaded Zoro's arms through his sleeves. "Well, it's not really talked about much in our family, but apparently, when Zoro was born, he'd been part of a set of conjoined twins. I was too young to actually remember, but I've seen photos of him as an infant when he was still attached to his twin. Anyway, Aki, that was the name of Zoro's twin, was far worse off than Zoro in terms of his health, so apparently our parents faced a moral dilemma. Separate the twins and let Aki go so that Zoro could continue living, or keep the twins together and let nature run it's course."

Luffy finished for her. "And your parents chose the former option."

Kuina nodded solemnly. "Mom couldn't bear the thought of losing both twins even though they were both so critically ill, so she opted to try to save the more healthy one. If Mom only knew that Zoro just celebrated his twentieth birthday a few days ago..."

Luffy thought again about how he'd almost not met Zoro, and... Zoro had had a twin. An identical twin. The revelation nearly blew his mind. "How old were they when they were separated?"

Kuina covered Zoro with his blanket, pulling up his padded railings until they locked into place. She thought a moment. "I'm not really sure, but I think they were a few months old when it was finally decided that they would be separated. They didn't share a heart, so the operation could be carried out safely. Luckily for Zoro, Aki didn't die until a little while after the separation. If he'd died before the operation, it would've been a greater danger to Zoro's life. All of this happened so long ago, that the only way I even know about Aki is through stories and pictures. I'm only three years older than them, after all."

"I heard that twins, even when they're babies, have a special bond. Were Zoro and Aki like that?" Luffy asked, watching Kuina ball Zoro's messed up hoodie, and stuff it into a plastic bag to take home and wash.

Kuina tied the bag, and set it down in a corner near her things. "I'm not sure. Zoro knows he was once part of a set of twins, though, but... I think he, even after all this time, remembers things. I'm not sure how... but... he remembers."

"Wow..."

Kuina let down the head of Zoro's bed. He rolled over onto his side in his sleep as she tucked the blanket around him. 

"Do you have any videos of them? Like in your phone?" Luffy asked, watching Zoro sleep, the sweat beginning to bead on his head as an indication of another fever.

"Actually, I do, though they're kind of painful for me to watch. I can show them to you though." She whipped out her phone from her purse, and went into the gallery album where she had old videos stored. "Here they are." She handed the phone to Luffy. "They're old home movies my parents filmed. I had a friend turn them into digital files so that I could store them on my computer and phone."

Instantly, Luffy delved into the world of Zoro's and Kuina's parents. A world of conjoined baby twins who were joined from just below their shoulders, all the way down to just above their tiny pot bellies. As Luffy watched the videos, he saw two growing infants who frequently hugged one another, slept together, and occasionally fought. But mostly, they cried, sometimes to the point of screaming. Two very sick children who had no other way to express how they felt. 

Luffy pointed to the slightly larger twin. "Look at this... Is that one Zoro?"

Kuina stood near Zoro's bed to rub circles on his back as he slept. "No. Surprisingly enough, Aki was the bigger twin. Don't let his appearance fool you though. He was the one who was the least healthy. He was the one who was going to eventually die. But he was bigger, which made it even more inportant that the separation take place. Being attached to one another, conjoined twins always share a blood supply. Had Aki died before they could be separated, Zoro would have most likely died with him."

Luffy paused the video for a bit, turning to Kuina. "Wow... I feel really bad for Aki, but I'm glad they were able to be separated. Because of that, I was able to meet Zoro." 

Kuina smiled sadly. "Zoro's wonderful, isn't he? I just wish Aki had had a good chance at life. He died not too long after he was separated from Zoro. Let me see that for a sec..." She reached for her phone, Luffy placing it into her hand. After a few seconds of looking through it, she found what she was searching for. "That's them after the operation to separate them."

Luffy could barely see the infants' bodies with all the bandaging and blankets that they were wrapped in. They lay sleeping side by side in separate beds that were pushed next to each other. 

Kuina pulled Zoro's hood over his head, before she moved away from the bed. "I have other videos of Zoro after Aki died and before he was brought to live in the hospital if you want to see them. It'll probably be easier to watch them on my laptop." 

"Yes! I'd love to see them!"

\--------------------

The rare glimpses into Zoro's childhood left Luffy somewhat sobered, and while he felt badly for Zoro, it made him appreciate his own illness-free existence much more. Luffy could go places and do things. He could go outdoors whenever he wanted to. He could experience life! Unlike Zoro, he wasn't stuck in a hospital, bedridden, not even permitted to experience the pleasure of the outdoors.

Arms resting on the padded railings of Zoro's bed, Luffy watched him sleep, wondering just what the young man dreamed about. Probably doctors, hospitals, and tests, exams, and procedures, since that was all the poor guy knew about. Oh, and probably Sparkle, on occasion. 

Zoro lay on his belly, arms under his pillow, blanket up to his neck, quietly dozing. This time, he looked so comfortable and peaceful as he slept, that Luffy could almost forget that Zoro was chronically ill, and that his illnesses made him have to sleep so much. 

Outside Zoro's window, another round of fluffy white flakes began to softly fall along to the lullaby music playing from the radio next to the bed. After a while though, his eyebrows furrowed in his sleep, as if in sheer frustration, his head moving around on his pillow. Suddenly, Zoro's head popped up off his pillow with a gasp, bleary eyes blinking sleepily. Breathing hard, he gazed at his surroundings. 

"Zoro? What's wrong?" 

"...Luffy?" Zoro said, voice thick with sleep. He rubbed his face with his casted hand. "... Just had a bad dream..." Well, it hadn't been exactly bad. Just that he'd been dreaming of being outdoors, but he'd been trapped inside a glass box the entire time, unable to escape. Upon awakening, and seeing himself in his room again, in his padded railing enclosed bed, made any remaining spirits he had plummet.

Luffy, having no clue what the dream had been about, tried to reassure Zoro. "It's okay, Zoro. You're safely back here in the hospital now."

"..."

"... Is something wrong?" Luffy asked.

Zoro grabbed and held tight to his Cinnamoroll plushie, resting his chin on it. "... I'm always in the fucking hospital..." 

"...Oh..."

Zoro turned to gaze out of the window, the barrier that separated him from his beloved outdoors. "It's snowing again..." He sighed.

Luffy moved to get up. "You want me to bring you some more?"

Zoro shook his head. "There's more out _there._ "

Luffy got Zoro's meaning. Wondering if there was a way to sneak Zoro outside, his thoughts were interrupted by Kuina quietly entering. 

"Oh, Zoro! You're awake." Removing her coat, scarf, and gloves, she sat next to Zoro's bed near Luffy. "When did he wake up?"

"A few minutes ago. He was having a bad dream," Luffy explained, removing his arms from the railings.

Kuina turned to her brother. "How do you feel, Zoro?"

Seeing the melting bits of snow clinging to the knit cap she still wore, he sighed. "Like shit."

At Kuina's worried expression, Luffy piped up. "If I'm right, I think he means mentally and emotionally. Not physically. I think that dream, whatever it was, did something to him."

What had Zoro dreamt about to make him so upset? Kuina wondered. "Zoro?"

"It's just a simple request. Why won't they let me go? Make them let me go outside, Kuina!" Zoro pleaded sadly, curling his body around his plushie. "I can't spend my whole life indoors! Damn!"

Knowing he had literally spent his life indoors, in his bed, she started, "But Zoro-"

Desperation bled into Zoro's voice. "At least let me out of my bed!" Zoro's eyes slowly slid shut. He could feel another seizure coming on. "Oh no... no, no, no, no, no..." He repeated over and over in a whisper. "...Kuina?..." He said hoarsely. He hadn't ever wanted Luffy to witness one of his seizures, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

"What's he talking about?" Luffy asked, just as Zoro's breathing became faster, uneven. His eyes rolled back until all Luffy could see was the whites, and he realized that what he was seeing was the beginning of a seizure, firsthand.

"No time to talk. Call a nurse! Quickly!" Kuina shouted above a bloodcurdling scream emitting from Zoro's bed.

Luffy grabbed the call button, requesting a nurse when someone from the nurse's station answered. It was at this point that Zoro's whole body began stiffening and convulsing, in a way Luffy had never seen. 

Nurses rushed in, pushing their way between Luffy and Kuina to get to their violently seizing patient, who'd begun salivating excessively as he convulsed. Luffy watched wide-eyed as they tended to Zoro, wiping his face and utilizing a saliva ejector to remove the excess saliva from within his mouth, all while his body jerked uncontrollably. 

After about another minute, the jerking movements began to slow, until they came to a stop completely. Breathing heavily, Zoro's eyes closed again as the nurses finished wiping his face. 

"It always takes him a lot of time to recover from each seizure," Kuina explained quietly to Luffy. "I wish he could get that surgery. It would make his life a lot easier. His meds don't work very well. I'm also worried what having so many is doing to his brain."

"Me too. That was horrible... And he has to deal with this everyday?"

"At least a few times a day. But his meds work a little at least. He'd be having seizures just about all day, every day otherwise." Kuina stroked Zoro's hair as she spoke to Luffy.

Luffy swallowed, taking a deep breath before continuing. He worried for Zoro, after witnessing such a violent seizure. "Does having these seizures like this... does it hurt him?"

"Well, he usually has a bad headache and some muscle soreness after having one," Kuina told him as she tucked the blanket around her little brother. "But as I said earlier, I'm more concerned about what they're doing to his brain."

"How long has he been having them?" Luffy asked, watching Zoro slip into an uneasy slumber. 

"Since he was an infant. From what I understand, he was having them even before he was separated from Aki. Oddly enough, Aki never suffered from seizures. Only Zoro." Kuina took a deep breath to compose herself. "I just wish there was something I could do to help him..."

Luffy sighed; he and Kuina moving away from the bed. "You already do all you can do."

"But it's not enough," Kuina sighed.

"It's all you _can_ do, so it _is_ enough." Luffy gave her hand a quick squeeze. 

Luffy always seemed to know what to say at the right time. "Thank you for caring for my brother, Luffy. He's the only family I have left."

"I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, with conjoined twins, one of the twins is bigger than the other


	6. Zoro's Big Day Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to post another chapter today, because, why not?

As his mind swam toward consciousness, his head still pounding, Zoro opened weary eyes. Luffy's name floated around in his head, just out of reach. It was almost as if it were teasing him, taunting him... 

Again, his mind was a jumble of confusion. It was usually like this after he awoke from a seizure, and he knew from experience to try to relax, and let his speech return to him in its own time. It was hard though. Being unable to communicate for such a long stretch of time, was frustrating, to say the least. 

He stared down at his weak, useless body, noting that his head was raised. He was covered up to his chest in his Cinnamoroll comforter, his plushie seemingly trapped within the confines of his bed with him. Luffy came into his vision then, speaking words that, at the moment, were impossible for him to comprehend, but the touch of his hand was comforting. Even so, embarrassment colored his cheeks; his mind going back to when Luffy had been there and witnessed his seizure.

More calming words and touches from Luffy. Luffy then turned to speak to someone whom he instintively knew was his sister. She came quickly into his view. 

Kuina's gentle fingers in his hair. He relaxed into her touch as words continued to desert him. She was speaking soothing words to him, words that were still out of the grasp of his understanding. 

His head still ached, and he moaned in pain, closing his eyes. A small medicine cup was gently pressed to his lips, and he forced himself to peel open his eyes to take the headache meds. 

The confusion in his mind slowly clearing, he began to be able to pick out bits and pieces of the conversation between Kuina and Luffy, piecing words together to form an understanding of what was being said. Zoro's eyes widened as he listened. 

After a few more minutes, "...octors have decided to finally grant him permission to be taken outside! Isn't that wonderful?"

"What made then finally decide to give in and let him go?" Luffy asked.

Zoro squeezed his eyes shut as Kuina's name came to him, and he tried hard to say it. "K-Kuuu-..." Damnit! Why was it so hard for him to get his mouth working again after a seizure? "Kuii-... Kuinnna!"

Kuina turned to him then. "Zoro! Guess what? Your doctors have finally agreed to letting us take you outside! I'll need to pick you out some warmer clothing before you go, but isn't that great?" 

"..."

Kuina peered at her brother with concern. "...What's wrong, Zoro?"

Zoro's eyes grew even wider. He couldn't believe his ears. "I... get to get out of bed? I get to... leave my room?" What if this was only a dream from which he would soon awaken?

"Yes, Zoro! You get to get out of bed. You get to leave your room. You get to go outside!" Kuina said excitedly.

A grin began to spread over Zoro's face. "When?"

Kuina thought a second. "Within the next day or so. I need to get you a few things to wear out." 

Luffy was about to burst at the seams. "Spill it, Kuina! What did you say to them to make them change their minds?"

"Well, I essentially asked them to try to picture themselves in Zoro's shoes. How would they like it if they were pent up inside, unable to go anywhere or do anything but stay in their beds." Kuina explained as she checked Zoro's closet, making a mental list of things he'd need to go out on a cold winter's day. "But I think what really got them to finally agree to it was, I asked them shouldn't he be allowed to go outside before he really becomes too sick to leave his bed?"

"Wow, if only we'd thought of that earlier," Luffy moved back over to Zoro. "Hey Zoro! I know you're happy to finally be getting out of that bed!"

Zoro's face brightened and he pushed his hood off of his head. "You don't know the _half_ of it! I wish I could go now! I don't wanna wait."

"You'll have to wait until at least tomorrow," Kuina told him, closing the closet door, and moving over to Zoro's bed. "Then, if possible, I'll take you out after your breakfast."

"Let's have breakfast somewhere else for a change. I'm _sooooo_ sick of hospital food." Zoro's head rolled on his pillow.

"That's a good idea! Kuina, why don't we take him to IHOP?" Luffy asked. "Do you like pancakes, Zoro?"

"Never had them. Too full of gluten and dairy," Zoro told him. "I'm also allergic to tree nuts, peanuts, and soy products. It's fun to be me."

Confused, Luffy said, "Huh? I thought soy was the alternative for people when they were allergic to other things!"

"You would think that, wouldn't you? But as it turns out, some of us are allergic to that too." Zoro sighed. "At least I'm not allergic to rice. So far anyway. I like rice."

"Me too, but my favorite food is meat."

Kuina stood after typing her list into her phone. "Okay. I'm going out to get some winter clothes for Zoro. You want to come with me, or stay and keep Zoro company?"

"I'll stay with Zoro until you get back, in case he needs anything." Luffy looked fondly at Zoro.

"If you'd like to, but his nurses and doctors have him on watch 24/7," Kuina told him, as she grabbed her coat, hat, and bag. "It's okay if you want to stay with him though, I shouldn't be gone more than an hour or two." She scrawled down her number on a scrap of paper, and handed it to him. "Just call me at this number if there's any kind of emergency."

Luffy's eyes scanned the number on the paper. "Will do!" He took out his phone to put the number in his contacts. "Got it!"

"Alright, I'll be back in a little while." With that, she left, quietly shutting the room door.

Zoro stretched his arms in the air out of boredom, letting them flop back down into his covered lap. "So... Wanna watch something on Youtube?" 

\--------------------

It took roughly an hour and a half, but in that time, Kuina had procured a thick winter coat with a hood, a pair of fleece trousers, scarf, mittens, thermal underwear and socks, and a sleep sack.

After paying for the items, and assuming that all was well with Zoro since Luffy hadn't called her, she stopped to pick up some burgers for them to eat, making sure to order Zoro's burger with a rice bun.

By the time she got back, Zoro was nearly asleep with Luffy in the bed beside him, stroking his hair. 

"Hey Kuina. Me an' Zoro were watching videos on his laptop. Sorry, I kinda climbed into his bed to watch." 

"That's alright, you won't hurt him." Kuina said as she set down the bags she'd been carrying. "I got you two something to eat."

Luffy's ears perked, as Zoro blinked his eyes open. Kuina grabbed her own burger, before handing the bag to Luffy. "Enjoy!"

Luffy got out of the bed, pushing up the railings again around Zoro. He reached into the bag, pulling out one of the burgers, but kept hold of the bag. "Burgers? But Zoro can't have a burger, 'cause of the bun, can he?"

"His burger has a rice bun." She began taking the clothes out of the bags, and showing them to Zoro.

"Rice bun? Sounds good!" Luffy said, finally passing the bag to a grateful Zoro. 

Zoro pulled his burger out of the bag, setting the bag flat onto his lap. "I haven't had bread in so long, I've forgotten what it even tastes like." He bit into his rice bun burger. "This is pretty good." 

"I picked you out a nice, warm coat, among other things." Kuina set about removing the tags from Zoro's new clothes. "I want you dressed as warmly as possible for tomorrow."

Zoro picked up a pencil to scratch under his cast. "But why a sleep sack?"

"You'll be wrapped in that to keep you extra protected from the cold." To Luffy she said, "You may want to go and get some sleep. We're going to be leaving pretty early for breakfast."

Luffy nodded as he finished his meal. To tell the truth, he was pretty tired, and bed sounded good right about now. "Let me give you my number."

\--------------------

_"Ya-ki-ni-kuuu!" Luffy shouted as he waited to be served his food that was to be cooked on the grill in front of him._

_Suddenly, the grill began sizzling on it's own, without the meat. He could hear the sizzling all around him...._

And he awoke with a start, turning to his phone. He'd forgotten he'd set his new ringtone to "yakiniku sizzle". He sleepily slapped his hand on the nightstand, grabbing his phone. Swiping the answer icon, he yawned a groggy "'llo?" into the phone.

Kuina's voice. _"Hi, Luffy. Sorry to wake you, but there's been a change of plans. Zoro's just had a really bad seizure-"_

At that, he was fully awake. "Is he gonna be okay??"

_"I think so, but he's going to be out of commision for a while. If he's feeling better later, maybe we can all go get lunch before we go to the park. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know what was going on. I'll call you back when things change."_

"Alright, thanks for letting me know, Kuina."

_"You're welcome. Bye."_

"Bye."

Luffy swiped the end call icon on his phone. He had really been looking forward to the breakfast and trip to the park. Then he remembered that, as bad as it was for him, it must be hell for Zoro to have to postpone part of his big day just because of a seizure. 

Damn seizures. Why did they always have to plague Zoro so?

He sighed. There was nothing he could really do now but try to go back to sleep.

\--------------------

A little later, Luffy awoke again. It was a lot lighter out, though there was still some cloud cover. Kuina hadn't called him yet, so he peeked at the time on his phone. It was 10:24 a.m. He wondered how Zoro was doing. He'd call, but if Zoro was still sleeping, Luffy didn't want to disturb him. If Kuina hadn't called by eleven, he'd give her a call to see what was up.

Pushing back the blankets and sitting up, he stretched, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Jumping up from the bed, he got some clothes out of his suitcase, then readied himself for a shower.

After he'd showered, put on his clothes, and brushed his teeth and hair, he grabbed a bite to eat just as Kuina called him.

"Hello?" Luffy spoke into the phone before putting it on speaker.

_"Hi Luffy, Kuina again."_

"Is Zoro okay now?" He asked, concerned. "You told me earlier he'd had another seizure."

_"Yes, he's okay now, but he's getting pretty antsy. He wants you to hurry up and get here, so he can start his big day."_

In the background, Luffy could hear Zoro: _"When's he coming? Is he on his way now?"_

_"I'll tell you in a minute. I'm on the phone right now."_

"Tell Zoro I'm about to leave now. It shouldn't take me more than twenty minutes to get there."

_"Alrighty, will do. See you when you get here."_

"Bye."

" _Bye. Zoro, Luffy says he's-"_ Kuina's voice was abruptly cut off as Luffy swiped the end call icon on his phone. 

Threading his arms into the sleeves of his coat, he zipped it before picking up his straw hat, placing it on his head. Outside of his hotel room, he pulled on and laced up his boots, before heading to the station.

\--------------------

"Luffy!" Zoro exclaimed as the person in question walked into his hospital room, shutting the door. He looked Luffy over. "Love your boots. Where'd you get them?"

Luffy looked down at his feet. "These? Thanks! I got them from Ace as a gift." He looked over Zoro, who was sitting in a wheelchair waiting to be taken outdoors for the first time in who-knew-when. "You look comfortable in your winter clothes."

"Truth is, I'm getting a little warm in all these clothes. How is it outside?" Zoro asked, tugging on his scarf.

"Cold! Like, _really_ cold!" Luffy answered. "If that's your thing, I think you'll like it."

"I've never really been outdoors before, so I don't know what kind of weather I like," Zoro said solemnly. "I really wanna know what outside is like."

"Well, it gets hot and humid in the summertime, and really cold in the winter. Spring and autumn are warm and cool. Most people like those seasons 'cause the temperature is just right. Not too hot or too cold. Anyway, where's Kuina?" Luffy pulled over a chair to sit near Zoro.

Zoro glanced at his room door. "Bathroom." Eyes flicking back to Luffy, he continued. "They let me open my window in the spring and autumn sometimes, but they keep it locked for most of the year. It's depressing."

"I'd be depressed too, if I had to spend my life indoors." 'Actually,' Luffy thought, 'I'd probably go out of my mind'. Then he continued. "I like having the freedom to go outdoors whenever I want to."

"Not only am I forced to stay indoors, I'm nearly always in my bed since I'm sick all the time. I can't walk anymore, either. But you knew that already." Zoro sighed, then added, "I'm gonna take off this coat in another minute. Starting to sweat."

Luffy looked Zoro over again. "How many layers did Kuina dress you in anyway?"

Zoro thought a moment. "Including the sleep sack? Four, I think. It's getting too hot."

Luffy laughed, moving closer to Zoro. "Wow. She really doesn't want you getting too cold, does she?"

"I don't want him getting sicker than he is already," Kuina's voice said.

Luffy whirled around to see Kuina standing by the door; having come in and heard what he'd said. "Hi, Kuina!"

Kuina greeted him happily, grabbing a brush to groom Zoro's short hair. "You two ready to go?" She covered his head in a knit cap.

"YES!" They both said in unison.


	7. Zoro's Big Day Pt. 2

Being so used to the heated air inside the hospital, Zoro wasn't really prepared for the chilly blast of air that hit his face as the doors to the outside were opened to him for the first time in years. It felt nice.

Once outside, Zoro's eyes moved upward to gaze at the vast, overcast grey sky. "... Wow... I never realized just how big the sky is! It's..." 'Huge' was an understatement. It was much bigger than just 'huge'. "It's... _immense!_ "

Luffy grinned, walking beside the wheelchair Kuina was using to push Zoro around. "Yeah! We should take you stargazing on a clear night. It's really beautiful!"

"Yeah! I'd love that!" Zoro grinned nearly as big as Luffy. "So anyway... where's this park you promised me?"

"We need to snag lunch first, don't you think?" Kuina asked Zoro, as they made their ways to the train station. "After that, we can go to the park, and stay for about an hour before you have to be back."

"I guess that's fair. I'd really like to stay out longer though," Zoro admitted. 

"Hey Zoro, I've been thinking. Wouldn't you have gotten to be outside to transfer hospitals?" Luffy asked, genuinely curious. "They would've needed to take you outdoors for that, wouldn't they?"

"I had to take a van from a garage to get to this hospital," Zoro explained. "I fell asleep before we even left, and woke up in my new room. This is all new to me."

Reaching the train station, they were pleasantly surprised to find the train nearly empty, despite the fact that it was nearly lunch time. They quickly found seats, placing Zoro's wheelchair in a place designated for it. 

"So where should we eat?" Luffy asked to Kuina who sat across from him. Zoro sat between Kuina and the window, and his hands and face were plastered to it. Luffy didn't miss the way his face lit up as he watched the scenery whizzing past.

"I know a restaurant that can cater to Zoro's dietary needs. We can go there."

\--------------------

After a filling lunch, they were back on the train again, headed to the park. 

"There's snow _everywhere!_ " Zoro exclaimed, eyes taking in the vast, white landscape. "Is this really what it's like?" He asked, not taking his eyes from the window.

Luffy was puzzled as to what Zoro meant. "What's what like?"

Zoro finally tore his eyes from the scenery. He gestured with a mittened hand to the view outside. "This!" He said excitedly, before turning back to the window.

"Huh?" 

Kuina shrugged. "Don't worry about it, Luffy. I think he's just really excited. This is the first time he's ever really been outdoors."

Luffy nodded, understanding. He turned to watch Zoro, feeling an odd sort of peace in Zoro's excitement. 

Another few minutes later, they reached the train station near the park. Disembarking the train, the three traveled the short distance to the park.

"It's so _cold_ out here!" Zoro said as the frigid air caressed his face. A big grin. "I _love_ it!"

Luffy looked up at the sky with its gently falling flakes. "Wanna catch snowflakes on our tongues?"

"Yeah!" Zoro said, watching Luffy, then trying it himself. "They melt almost instanly!" He and Luffy stuck out their tongues again. Zoro turned to Kuina. "You should try this!"

"Nah, it's okay, I'm good." 

Shrugging, Zoro went back to catching and eating snowflakes with Luffy.

"Hey Zoro? Didn't you wanna see what tree bark feels like?" Luffy asked excitedly.

"Oh yeah! I'd almost forgotten about that!" 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Come on!" Luffy wheeled Zoro over to an area filled with a large cluster of bare trees. "Look Zoro! This tree has smooth bark. Here, feel that!"

Zoro whipped off his mittens, placing his hands on the smooth bark of the tree. Weirdly enough, it surprised him that the tree trunks were three-dimensional, and not flat like cardboard. "I like this! Wonder what kinda tree it is?"

"I dunno much about trees, other than different ones have different shaped leaves and different typesa bark," Luffy admitted, wheeling Zoro over to another tree. "This one over here has a rough bark, wanna feel?"

"Of course!" Hands shot out to caress a cold, rough, tree trunk. Being used to everything around him in the hospital being soft, or smooth, this was very new to him. He chuckled. "Wow, this really _is_ rough!"

"I know you can't do it, but it's also fun to climb up and sit in the branches." Luffy thought a moment, then said, "Maybe when it's spring, we can see if they'll let us take you on a picnic under the cherry blossoms. The weather is more pleasant then, and the sakura petals flutter down out of the trees like snowflakes!"

"Sounds nice." Zoro grinned, slipping his mittens back onto his rapidly freezing hands. 

"Wish you weren't so sick, I'd like to take you to swim in a pool during summertime. You'd love it! Not that I can swim well though..." Actually, Luffy couldn't really swim at all. 

Zoro had to think for a moment to even figure out what a 'pool' was. "Ohhh! You mean the big, um, hole..." He gestured with his hands. "In the ground... With the light blue water?"

A pain lanced through Luffy's heart. Zoro didn't even know what a pool was? But then, now that he thought about it, it wasn't really surprising that he didn't. "Yeah! But the water isn't actually blue. They just paint the inside of the pool to be that color." 

Confusion colored Zoro's face. "How do they paint it with all that water in it?"

Luffy would've thought Zoro was being silly, had he not known his life's situation. "It's painted before it's filled."

A hand to his face. "Oh. Shoulda guessed."

"Anyways, playing in the pool is fun! Wanna make some snow angels? Well..." Luffy thought for a moment. Zoro was wrapped in the sleep sack from the chest down, and lacked boots or shoes. "Actually, we can make a snowman!"

"Yeah! That's something I've wanted to do since I was a kid! But I never dreamed that I'd one day get to do it!"

Luffy started by rolling the first large snowball, stopping just in the front of Zoro's chair. Then he rolled a medium sized one, handing it to Zoro. "Just put that on top of the first snowball." He directed his friend.

"I know, I've seen it done on tv," Zoro said, doing as instructed. 

Luffy gave him the last snowball. "Here ya go!"

"Thanks." Though his cast gave him a bit of trouble, limiting his arm's movements, Zoro was just able to reach up to put it on top.

"Looking good so far, guys," Kuina said from where she sat on a nearby bench, keeping a close eye on her brother.

Luffy collected the few rocks he could find in the snow, and brought them back to Zoro to place as eyes and a mouth. "Here, you can put these on, while I get the carrot I brought with me. It's a baby carrot!"

Zoro busied himself with placing the rocks, while Luffy searched his pockets. Where'd he put the carrot? After a minute of fruitless searching, he put a gloved hand to his chin. "Hmm..."

"What's wrong?" Zoro asked, pausing what he was doing.

Luffy blushed a bit. "I can't find the carrot for the nose..."

"That is a problem." Zoro thought a second. "Maybe we could make a snow nose?" He suggested, shrugging.

Luffy grinned a big grin. "Good idea! Since it was your idea, you wanna make it?"

"Yeah, why not?" Zoro said as Luffy handed him a small amount of snow in his hands. Zoro had trouble shaping it, as it stuck to his knit mittens, and kept coming apart. "This is hard..."

Luffy removed his gloves, grabbing more snow from the ground, shaping a nose from it, then handing it to Zoro. "There ya go!"

Zoro placed it where it needed to go, and leaned back in his chair to survey their handiwork. "You know, I think he needs a hat." He was about to remove his own, when Kuina stopped him.

"No, Zoro, you can use mine," She said as she removed her hat and placed it on the snowman's head. 

"Looks good, but he needs just one more thing." Luffy broke off a couple of branches from a tree, giving one to Zoro. "Arms," he said simply.

They both stuck in the branches in the appropriate places, surveying their handiwork once more. Zoro turned to his sister. "Okay, take a pic!"

Kuina stood up and walked over to a spot that would be best to get a good photo. "With you guys, or without?"

"Both!" Luffy said, moving Zoro to one side of the snow creation, then moving to the other side. 

"Alright, smile guys!" She said, as she held up her phone. 

They did as she'd instructed, then moved away from the snowman for the next photo. 

Luffy and Zoro looked at the photos in Kuina's phone afterwards. "Zoro looks good in photos!" Luffy commented.

"He does, doesn't he?" She said, preparing to send the pics to Luffy's phone. "I took a few more while you guys were playing. I'll send you those later. Hey Zoro? It's time to go back."

Zoro, who had begun to tire a little while ago, didn't object. He was starting to get cold too, so going back sounded good about now. 

"Can't we stay just a little longer?" Luffy asked, moving over to Zoro's side.

Zoro shook his head. "I actually _wanna_ go back. I'm tired." He was beginning to feel bad again, too.

Luffy's face grew serious with concern. "Oh, okay. Maybe we _should_ head back then."

\--------------------

The rhythm of the train on its tracks, and the general quietness inside the car they rode in, served to lull Zoro to sleep.

"Zoro was really having fun today," Luffy commented as he watched Zoro sleep in his seat next to Kuina.

"It's really the first time he's ever had this much fun." Kuina said quietly, arm around her little brother. "Maybe since he did okay today, they'll let him outside again more often."

"I sure hope so," Luffy said. The rest of the ride back was spent in silence.

\--------------------

By the time Zoro cracked open his eyes again, it was nearly time for dinner. 

To hide her worry that her little brother had slept so long, Kuina plastered a bright smile on her face as she walked to Zoro's bed. "Hey Zoro, good to see you awake! You ready for dinner? Tonight's menu is gluten-free chicken soba with a side of white rice." She let up the head of his bed.

Now that Zoro really thought about it, he was hungry. But... he really didn't want hospital food. "Can I get that from the place where we ate earlier?"

Kuina smiled a genuine smile this time. "Sure, why not?"

Luffy came over just then, hands on the raised railings of Zoro's bed. "If you call it in, I'll go pick it up for him!"

"Sounds good, thank you," Kuina said as she pulled out her phone, preparing to place the call. "Yes?... I'd like to place an order... Yes, I'd like..."

"Hey Zoro, how do you feel?" Luffy asked, resting his arms on the bed railings. "Have fun today?"

A grin spread over his face despite another fever coming on. "Yes! Oh man, I hope I can go back again soon!" Then his face took on a worried look. "It should be okay now... shouldn't it?" He hated to think of his first day outside being his last.

"Yeah, probably. I hope they'll okay another outing, I had fun with you today!" Luffy told Zoro truthfully.

"Me too!" Zoro removed his arms from under the comforter, laying them in his lap. "To tell the truth, part of me didn't really wanna leave... But I was tired. I had to leave whether I wanted to or not."

"Okay, Zoro's food should be ready to pick up when you get there," Kuina told Luffy as she hung up her phone. "Here's some money. Get you something you like too."

"Wow! Thanks!" He exclaimed, accepting the money Kuina gave him. "I'll be right back!"

\--------------------

Later that evening, after they'd all eaten, Zoro had had his evening meds, had his bath, and had been dressed for the night in his fleece pajamas, Luffy asked Zoro, "Hey Zoro, ever build a pillow fort?"

"Never." Zoro couldn't really remember doing many fun things, even as a kid. 

"We should do that tomorrow then," Luffy mused. "We just need lotsa pillows and blankets!"

"I have plenty of blankets, but not many pillows," Zoro said, a little disappointed.

Luffy smiled. "Don't worry about it. We could build a mini fort..." 

"Sounds great actually," Zoro said, looking forward to it.

Luffy took out his phone, turning on the screen. He tapped the weather app to make it come up. After looking at it a few seconds, he uttered, "Hmm..."

"That a weather app?" Zoro asked.

Luffy nodded, a bit grimly. "Yeah..."

"What's it show?" Zoro asked tiredly.

"Looks like there's s'posed ta be an ice storm tomorrow. I may not be able to get here to visit you."

Zoro sighed. "Oh..."

"Don't worry, we can talk on Twitter." Luffy clicked out of the weather app, then tapped the Twitter icon, going through his notifications.

"It's not the same though." Zoro's eyes slid shut. His fever was no longer in the danger zone, but it still burned. "I wanna stay up a little longer, but..."

"You don't feel well. Don't worry, I'll be here a bit longer. Maybe I can come see you tomorrow before the storm."

"Sounds good..." Zoro pulled the blanket over his shoulders, letting the head of his bed down. Turning over onto his side, he then said, "Night, Luffy."

"Night, Zoro." 

Luffy watched his best friend slip into an uneasy slumber. Hesitantly, Luffy reached behind Zoro to rub slow circles on his back through the blankets, like Kuina always did. After a moment, Zoro's breathing had grown slow and even, his sleep dipping into the more restful kind of sleep.

Letting loose his own yawn, Luffy played with his phone as he waited for Kuina to return to the room.

"Hey Luffy, I can take things from here if you'd like to go back for now."

Luffy told Kuina about the ice storm that was supposed to blow through the area tomorrow. "I'll try if I can, but I may not be able to come tomorrow."

"What'd Zoro say?" She asked.

"He was disappointed, but he understood. I told him we still have Twitter."

"If the wi-fi holds up, you two can keep in touch. Hopefully, the storm will hold off for a while so you can visit for a bit."

Luffy smiled tiredly. He hoped so too.


	8. Transcortical Motor Aphasia

The next morning after he got dressed, Luffy peeked through the curtains at a dark and brooding sky. It wasn't too bad now, with some gusts here and there, but he'd need to visit Zoro quickly, and get back before the storm really hit.

After eating breakfast, he dressed in his coat, scarf, hat, gloves, and boots then hurried down to the train station. Boarding the nice warm train car with the other passengers, he took his seat. As he traveled towards the hospital, his mind wandered to Zoro, wondering how he was feeling today. How he felt today might determine whether or not he'd be allowed to go back outside in the future. For someone who'd been bedridden his entire life, the kind of exertion Zoro had put out yesterday, might've been too much for him.

But then, maybe he was worrying unnecesarily. Zoro would be fine, he just needed to rest up some before doing anything like that again. Still, his stomach began to churn with worry.

At his stop, he stepped off the train platform, noticing that the wind had picked up quite a bit. It was one of the few times he'd wished he'd worn normal pants, as he trekked the short distance to the hospital. 

Reaching it, he went inside, heading straight for the elevators. Spying one already open, he rushed for it. As he approached, a yellow-mittened hand shot out, holding the doors for him. Grateful for the kind gesture, Luffy stepped in.

"What floor?" the stranger asked.

"Second, thanks." Luffy replied.

"No problem." The courteous stranger pressed the button for the 2nd floor. "I'm actually headed to the next floor up. Gonna see my girlfriend."

"That's nice," Luffy replied honestly. "I'm visiting my friend for a bit before the storm hits."

"Zoro?" The stranger asked, surprising Luffy.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Luffy asked.

The man, who was around the same height as Luffy was, shrugged. "I've seen you here visiting him before."

Luffy still didn't understand. "Yeah but, how do you know Zoro?"

The stranger smiled. "Oh, he's lived here awhile. Everyone knows of him and his sister."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone."

Luffy still wasn't sure what that meant, so he let it go. "Oh... Okay."

As the bell pinged and the doors opened, the man who'd been in the elevator before Luffy, said, "I guess this is where we part ways. Say hi to Zoro and Kuina for me."

Luffy stuck his hands between the doors to prevent them from closing. "Wait! What's your name?"

The man smiled brightly. "Usopp. See ya!" He said as the doors closed, and he was on his way.

'That was weird,' Luffy stared at the closed elevator doors for a moment longer before walking down the hall to reach Zoro's room. At least his stomach was no longer churning, he was pleased to note. Putting on a smile he didn't really feel, he entered, saying, "Zoro~! Huh?"

Noticing that Zoro was not in his bed, he looked to Kuina, worry painting her features.

"Hi, Luffy. They took Zoro to run a scan on him a little while ago."

Dread filled Luffy's heart. "Is... Is there anything wrong?"

"Yeah... he had a long, drawn-out seizure this morning." Her calm manner belied her true feelings. "A seizure lasting much longer than a few minutes, which is extremely unusual. The doctors aren't sure why, which is the reason for the scan..." Then despite her desire to keep fear out of her voice, it bled through. "I just wish they'd keep me notified as to his status... It's just... so hard not knowing whether he's gonna be okay..."

"I'm sorry, Kuina... If you don't mind, maybe I can keep you company while we wait for news on Zoro?"

"I don't mind..." 

With that, Luffy pulled over the other chair in Zoro's room, sitting next to Kuina to wait.

\--------------------

An hour later, the doctors came in. After putting Zoro back to bed, they gave Kuina and Luffy the bad news: Although Zoro had no external injuries save for a bitten tongue, the prolonged seizure had dealt signifigant damage to his brain. As they'd told Kuina, the extent of the damage had yet to be seen. They would keep him closely monitored for the next 24 hours. 

Now there was just the wait to see if and when he would awaken. 

Although still afraid, Kuina breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad he didn't die. He'd stopped breathing, and it was hard for them to get it started back again."

Luffy put an arm around her shoulders. "I know it seems hard to believe, but even though he's sickly, Zoro's still resilient. He'll pull through this."

Kuina sighed, taking a few deep breaths to try to calm her frazzled nerves. "Gods, I hope so..."

"He will."

After all that had happened that morning, Kuina did her best not to show it, but she was weary. Tired to the very bone. "Hey, Luffy? Can you look after Zoro for me? I need some rest. Just for a little bit... Okay?"

Luffy's heart went out to Kuina. He couldn't even begin to fathom what Kuina must've been going through, but he had a fairly good idea of it. "Rest as long as you need to. I'll watch Zoro for you, and let you know when he wakes up."

Kuina smiled tiredly. "Thank you so much, Luffy..." She reclined her chair, lying back and closing her eyes.

Luffy watched her a moment, then headed for the closet in Zoro's room. He rummaged through it for a few seconds, then finding what he was looking for, he moved back over to Kuina, covering her with a soft, fluffy comforter that was similar to the one Zoro was currently lying under. "Sweetest dreams," He whispered, meaning every word of what he said.

Taking the chair over to Zoro's bedside, Luffy sat, getting comfortable, determined to keep an eye on Zoro until Kuina awakened. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Luffy could see that the storm had gained momentum. He opened an app on his phone that would tell him about the train schedules. Apparently, the weather was now getting bad enough where the train stations were shutting down for the day. He was now effectively stuck here until the storm blew over, which could be well into tomorrow.

Oh well. At least he had shelter, and it was no worse than what Zoro had to put up with everyday. Except for yesterday, he was stuck here all day, every day.

He turned back toward his charge, standing and tucking Zoro in to make him as comfortable as possible. It was going to be a long wait.

\--------------------

Almost three hours later, Kuina stirred, looking at her surroundings with bleary eyes.

"Hey Kuina," Luffy said as he turned to her from where he was sitting, still keeping a diligent eye on Zoro. "Have a nice nap?"

"Yeah..." She yawned sleepily. "How's Zoro?"

"Still hasn't woken up," Luffy reported sadly. "But he looks more restful now."

"I guess that's a good sign," Kuina said as she pulled the chair back into it's original upright position. As she did so, her stomach rumbled.

"If you're hungry, I'll continue to watch Zoro for you while you go get something from the cafeteria," Luffy said, not turning away from Zoro this time.

With all that had gone on this morning with her brother, Kuina had not had a proper meal since yesterday evening. "Thanks Luffy. Want me to bring you anything back?"

Luffy couldn't quite decide. "Um, sure. Maybe a pastry or something like that, thanks." 

"No problem," she said as she moved toward the door. 

"I'll text you if Zoro wakes up while you're gone," he said. 

"Thank you so much," she said, then was gone.

After several long minutes, Zoro began to stir, but it was a long time before he cracked open pain-filled eyes. His half-open eyes took in Luffy, and... a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. 

"Hey, Zoro," Luffy whispered, giving his friend a little wave. "You've been asleep for more than three hours. You feel okay?"

The green-haired man moaned wordlessly, his words deserting him again. 

"I promised Kuina that I'd text her when you woke up," he told Zoro as he pulled out his phone to do just that. When he'd finished, he put his phone back into his pocket, focusing his attention completely on Zoro. "How do you feel?"

Zoro moaned again. His head was pounding, and his muscles ached with intense soreness. All that on top of not feeling well in general.

Luffy stood up, leaning on the bed railings, arms folded. "That seizure hurt you bad, didn't it?" 

Zoro sighed, unable to fully comprehend what was being said, nor being able to answer. He closed tired eyes.

Sadness filled Luffy's heart. Being sick all the time was bad enough, but having no control over when the seizures came on, or how bad each one would be, had to be the absolute worst. "I'm sorry you have to live this way..."

Zoro's mind was a jumble, but he could feel Luffy's concern. He shifted uncomfortably in his railing-enclosed bed, turning onto his side, trying to will his brain to unscramble long enough to give Luffy some kind of reply to whatever it was he'd said.

Luffy adjusted Zoro's blanket, making sure that he was comfortable. Once done, he placed a hand on Zoro's covered arm, lending him his support.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, just before Kuina entered. "Thank you for letting me know when he woke up," she said as handed Luffy a strawberry pastry in a plastic container. Setting down the rest of what she'd been carrying, she turned to her brother.

Reaching down, she stroked Zoro's hair lovingly. Even though he wasn't in the clear yet, he was recovering, or so she hoped. "I'm so happy you're okay..."

Zoro opened bleary eyes. Trying to speak, he produced an, "Uunnh..." He tried again. "Uunnnnnh..." He looked worriedly up at his big sister.

Alarmed, but doing a good job of hiding it, she whispered, "Shh, shh... Don't force yourself, it'll come back to you..."

Zoro sighed in pure frustration. His mind was beginning to clear, but his words still deserted him.

Kuina raised the head of his bed. "Would you like something to eat, Little Brother?" She asked, as she prepared to give Zoro what she'd brought for him from the cafeteria.

Zoro shook his head, frustration still coloring his features. 

Luffy licked frosting off his fingers. "Come on, Zoro, you have to eat something..."

Zoro shook his head again, turning away from them. His mind was nearly clear now, why wasn't his speech coming back to him the way it usually did? "Uunnh..."

Deep breaths... Take deep breaths... Deep calming breaths... Then try again. "Nnnnn... Uunnn!" Fear blossomed in Zoro's chest. His speech should've come back by now.

Kuina, seeing the fear in Zoro's eyes, used the nurse call button to get Dr. Sugimoto into the room. 

\--------------------

"... And that's basically it. With proper speech therapy, you could regain your speech, provided you don't have another seizure of that severity in the future. Since this was the first time you've had that kind of seizure, chances are good that it may not happen again for a while." The older bespectacled man with the greying hair edges, said to Zoro.

Kuina, who was sitting next to Zoro on his bed, thought of what the doctor had told Zoro. He'd acquired transcortical motor aphasia. In other words, Zoro could understand what they were saying to him, but it would be difficult for him to properly respond. He'd have a hard time finding the words he needed to say. "Oh Zoro..."

So that was it, then. The seizures he'd been suffering from all these years had finally robbed him of his speech for good. At least, it seemed that way for now. 

Dr. Sugimoto continued, speaking to Kuina this time. "If you would like, we can start his speech therapy next week-"

Zoro turned, shaking his head quickly. "Uunh!! Uunnnnn!!" He pointed towards the floor. 

Before Luffy could even guess at what Zoro wanted, Kuina got it instantly. "He wants the therapy now."

Zoro nodded twice at the doctor.

"Unfortunately, because we'll need to set this up, next week is the soonest we can start. I'm sorry." He glanced sympathetically at Zoro. "I know you want to speak again as soon as possible."

Zoro nodded again.

"And around how long will it take for him to regain his speech faculties once he starts therapy?" Kuina asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

Dr. Sugimoto checked his notes."Hmm, well, while the damage was quite severe, with therapy, it shouldn't take much longer than a few months."

Anguish painted Zoro's features. A few months?? The words he needed to express his disappointment continued to evade him. It was like trying to catch a butterfly. Something he instinctively knew he could never do. 

"When he has this therapy, how many days a week will his sessions be? And how long is each session?" She asked.

As disappointed as Zoro was about everything that was happening now, he couldn't help a small smile. Leave it to Kuina to ask Dr. Sugimoto everything that he needed to know.

"Each session will be an hour long, three days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays," The doctor told her.

Kuina supressed a long-suffering sigh. "With all due respect, Sensei, Zoro wants to speak again as soon as possible. I'm willing to _pay_ for more sessions. Is there a way this can be arranged?"

He glanced from Kuina to Zoro, and back to Kuina. He know how much Zoro meant to Kuina, and that she would do anything for him. Still, there was only so much that he, as a doctor, could do for them. "I know you want results as quickly as possible, but this is the best we can do for now."

Zoro shot bolt upright in his bed, even though the action made every muscle in his back and torso protest. "Uunnh!"

Kuina stroked Zoro's hair, pulling him closer to her, whispering, "I know, Zoro." Kissing Zoro's forehead, she turned back to Dr. Sugimoto. "Isn't there any other way? Something better than this?"

"Unfortunately, this is all we can do for him for now." He turned to Zoro. "I'm sorry." 

As a man who'd been Zoro's doctor since he was very small, Dr. Sugimoto could feel Zoro's despair as if it were his own. Zoro had had to leap all kinds of medical hurdles all his life, and this was just one more to jump.

"Alright, then." Kuina sighed in resignation. Today was Wednesday. There were four more whole days before Zoro's therapy sessions would began. "I guess we have no choice but to wait." She slowly stood so as not to jostle Zoro's bed, and bowed in respect. "Thank you, Dr. Sugimoto."

After the doctor left, Kuina helped Zoro lie back down with the control on his bed, knowing that every muscle in his body must be screaming right now. Covering her little brother with his blanket, and making sure he was comfortable, she pulled up his bed railings, locking them into place. 

So it was going to be at least a few more days before he could even _begin_ to learn to speak again. Great. Fucking great. He turned onto his side, away from both Luffy and Kuina. If he could no longer verbally communicate... What good was he to anyone anymore?

"Zoro?... You okay?" Luffy asked to Zoro's back, standing up and moving over to the bed.

Zoro sighed, shaking his head. Even if he had his words back, he'd still have none to describe his utter despair. A despair, he thought, he probably wouldn't be feeling if he did have his words back.

A Catch-22.

"Hey!" Luffy nearly shouted, but caught himself in time. "I wonder if Zoro could write down what he wants to say? You know, like when someone can't talk cause they have larry-in-gitis, or something."

"I'm afraid it's a lot more complicated than that, Luffy," Kuina explained. "He can't speak anymore because the seizure apparently damaged the part of his brain that controls his speech. Usually this kind of thing happens with a stroke, but like Dr. Sugimoto said, this is the first time he's seen it happen as a result of a seizure."

A plaintive moan from Zoro's bed, brought both Kuina and Luffy to his bedside. "What's wrong, Zoro?"

Zoro squeezed his eyes shut, pressing the heel of his hand against his forehead. Kuina lay a hand on his head, feeling for a fever. Not feeling one, she asked, "Have a headache, Little Brother?"

Zoro nodded. 

Hesitantly, she asked, "Want to take something for it?"

After a few seconds, to her surprise, he nodded again.

"Luffy, please get me the acetaminophen off the table over there, and pour him a cup of water." Kuina requested as Luffy went to do just that.

Once she had the meds, she sat Zoro up just long enough to take them. 

Luffy watched Kuina lay him back down again, covering him up once more, then as she usually did, she sat rubbing slow circles on his back. The singing, however, was new. A soft, sweet, almost sad tune flowed from her lips; a soothing melody that was lovingly crafted to calm her little brother, and help him rest.

Once Zoro was sleeping soundly, Kuina spoke quietly to Luffy. "You should eat something, and rest yourself. You've been worrying about Zoro this whole time. I can watch him while you take your turn to rest."

Luffy produced a jaw-cracking yawn, just as his stomach rumbled in want of something more substantial than a strawberry pastry. "Nah, I'm good."

"No, you're not," Kuina said, knowingly. "Go get something more to eat. I can watch Zoro for a little while."

Truth be told, Luffy was famished, but he really didn't want to leave Zoro. But then, his sister Kuina was there in case he needed anything. Maybe he _would_ go and grab a bite to eat. "Alright. If Zoro wakes up, tell him where I am."

Kuina smiled. "Will do."

Luffy quietly opened the door, then turned back to Kuina. "Oh yeah. This morning, a guy named... Usopp, I think it was? He told me to tell you guys hi."

"Yeah, Usopp comes here to visit his girlfriend everyday. We hadn't seen him in the last few days though. Anyway, go get some lunch." Kuina chuckled.

"Okay, be back soon." Then Luffy was gone.

\--------------------

As Luffy sat at the cafeteria table with a chicken club sandwich and fries, he thought about Zoro. Given how bad things were for him, Luffy wondered whether or not Zoro was even going to live long enough to ever be able to speak again. But then, he'd lived this long, maybe he would be okay for a little while longer.

Luffy sighed, his heart breaking, thinking about how he'd no longer be able to talk to Zoro... Well... _Technically_ he could _talk to_ Zoro, it was just that Zoro was no longer able to respond. With words, anyway. Luffy sighed again. What would he do when he finally had to go back home?

"Hey." 

Luffy looked up. It was a smiling Usopp holding a lunch tray.

A sad smile came to Luffy's face. "Hey." 

"Mind if I sit here?" Usopp asked politely. 

Luffy shrugged. "Not really."

"Thanks!" Usopp sat across from Luffy. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Luffy." 

"Good to meet ya, Luffy."

"Good to meet you, too. Again, I mean..." Luffy then turned his attention inward, thinking of what had happened to Zoro.

Just before he took a bite of his sandwich, Usopp glanced at Luffy, saying, "You look like you've lost your best friend. Nothing bad's happened to Zoro... Has it? He hasn't..."

"No, no.... Nothing like that..." Luffy glanced back down at his own sandwich, not really wanting it anymore. "It's just... he had a seizure earlier, that messed up his brain so bad, he can't talk anymore. He can still make sounds, he just can't say words anymore. Ya know?"

"Yeah, I heard from Kuina how bad his seizures can sometimes be, but I didn't think anything like that would happen."

Luffy sighed. "...Me neither..."

An awkward pause. "Well... I hope he gets better soon..."

"Me too..." Luffy muttered.

They were silent for a moment, then looking out of the window at the now raging storm, Usopp spoke then. "The storm's gotten worse. Looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a while."

"I don't mind. Zoro needs me," Luffy said, finally taking a tentative bite of his sandwich. It tasted pretty good for hospital cafeteria food.

"I get you. I'm the same way with Kaya," Usopp said, then clarified, "Kaya's my girlfriend. She's been living at this hospital for about a year now. It's renowned for being one of the best in Japan, so they're getting the best care they can get here."

Luffy took "they" to mean Zoro and Kaya. Trying to figure out the best way to ask about Kaya, he hesitated a bit as he spoke. "What's.... Umm.... What does she.... What's she..."

"Here for?" Usopp finished for him. He continued, "Leukemia. She's had it for awhile, but only in the last year has she begun to need 24-hour care."

"Wow... How'd you meet her?"

"Well, before she was diagnosed, we were classmates in highschool..."

\--------------------

Kuina sat near the window in Zoro's room, staring out of it, a hot cup of tea cradled in her hands. The softly falling snow from yesterday had turned into a raging, angry blizzard. She'd known since yesterday that she'd be spending the night here tonight, so she'd brought her thermos of hot green tea, a change of clothes, and an extra pillow and blanket (in case Zoro might need his own extras). 

Apparently, from the way the storm seemed to still be building, it wasn't going to abate anytime soon. A quick check of the weather app on her phone, revealed this to be the case. According to the app, the storm would be raging on throughout the night, and well into morning.

Outside, the strong, whistling wind rattled the windowpane hard, making Kuina glad that she, Zoro, and Luffy were safely indoors. Just seeing all the snow and ice, made her shiver despite her hoodie and the comforting heat inside the room. 

Hearing the rustle of sheets, she turned her head just in time to see Zoro's head pop up from his bed where he was lying on his stomach, tired eyes blinking sleepily. Looking around, his eyes focused on her for a few seconds. Then seemingly satisfied that she was still there, he lay his head back down on his pillow again without a sound.

Sometimes Kuina wondered what Zoro dreamt about. He'd never told her, so she always just assumed that he dreamt of his life in the hospitals. Doctors.... Nurses.... Checking vital signs.... Neverending tests and procedures.... Maybe though, after yesterday's fun in the snow outside, he'd finally have something else to dream about.

Moving away from the window, she padded over to Zoro's bed, using the call button to summon the doctor back to Zoro's room.

\--------------------

As they talked, Luffy warmed up to Usopp pretty quickly. He hadn't forgotten about Zoro, but his worrying for now, had somewhat lessened.

"Wish Ace was here," Luffy told Usopp. "He'd love you an' Zoro!" He placed the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth.

Interested, Usopp asked. "Who's Ace?"

"Oh, Ace is my brother," Luffy clarified. "He owns a gaming store though, and couldn't come with me to see Zoro. Speaking of Zoro..." He looked at the clock on his phone. "I should be getting back." He stood, picking up his tray. "It was good talking to you!"

"I need to get back to Kaya also. Good talking to you too!" Usopp said as he began to finish the last few bites of his meal.

After Luffy took his tray to discard the paper items, he put the tray in the drop-off window before heading back towards Zoro's room.

\--------------------

Cracking open the door to Zoro's room slowly, Luffy slipped in, quietly closing it behind him. "Hey Kuina. Zoro's not awake yet, is he?"

Kuina looked up from her laptop. "Not yet, though he awoke for a brief moment earlier."

Moving over to Zoro's bed, Luffy put the drink he'd been carrying down before peering over the railings. Zoro was now lying on his back, hands up near his head. He had a look of content sleep on his face. "I don't think I've ever seen him sleep on his back, unless he was placed like that."

Kuina closed the cover of her laptop, getting up and walking over to where Luffy stood near Zoro's bed. She looked down at Zoro. "Yeah, most of the time he sleeps on his side or stomach, because it's more comfortable, but from time to time, he'll sleep like this."

"He looks comfy right now," Luffy said fondly, leaning on the bed railings to watch over his friend. 

Kuina pulled and tucked the blankets around her younger brother, laying a hand on the soft, hairless skin of his face. 

Luffy, noticing the tender gesture, said, "He looks like he doesn't even have to shave."

Leaning on Zoro's padded railings to watch him sleep, Kuina said, "That's because he doesn't. I mean, a few hairs grow in here and there, but he's never been able to grow a full beard."

Luffy rubbed his own cheek and chin with his hand. "My face does the same thing. When I tryta grow a beard, it's really patchy and uneven, so I don't bother."

"If it makes you feel better, I can't grow a beard, either."

"Yeah, it's so har- Wait, what?" 

"I can't grow one either," Kuina repeated. "I mean, I've never really liked being a girl with all the societal expectations that go along with it. Like, expecting me to be "ladylike" and all that. I could never get used to that. Being a guy seems so much better. Guys have more freedom. Parents are also more lenient with boys than they are with girls. That kind of thing."

"Oh..." Luffy picked up his drink, taking a sip through the straw. "Did you ever talk to your parents about this?"

"Not really. Caring for Zoro took priority for all of us. I really didn't get a chance to tell them how I felt. Then there was the road accident, and, well... I just never really got to tell them."

Luffy's voice took a sympathetic turn. "Oh, that's horrible..."

"You're really the only person I've ever told," Kuina said sadly.

Surprise on Luffy's face. "You haven't even talked to Zoro about it?"

Kuina shook her head once. "No. He has so many problems of his own, that I don't want to burden him with mine."

"I don't think this would bother him." Luffy told her, as he took another sip of his drink. "If anything, he'd probably understand."

"Maybe I'll tell him one day, but it probably won't be today." Kuina peered over the railings of Zoro's bed, seeing him begin to stir. "Speaking of Zoro..."

The young man in question cracked open tired eyes, eyes that seemed to want to stay closed. 

"Hey Zoro," Kuina said with pseudo-cheerfulness as she let up the head of his bed. "Have a good sleep?"

Zoro seemed to think on the question for a moment, then nodded once, rubbing at closed eyes.

"Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"

Another nod.

She stroked his cheek tenderly as she spoke. "Alright, I'll get you something nice from the cafeteria, okay?"

After he grunted a reply, she turned to Luffy. "If he needs anything while I'm gone, let me know, okay? I'll be back as quickly as I can." With that, she was out the door.

Zoro sat in silence, watching the snow pile up on the window pane, slowly obscuring his view of the outside. His sharp ears picked up the sounds of the violent gusts of wind pounding the walls outside his window. Today was one of the very few days in his life that he was glad to be indoors, away from the elements. He sighed, boredom taking over, and anger too, at himself for his inability to leave his bed. He turned to a quiet Luffy, who cracked a smile at him.

"I'm gonna hafta spend the night here tonight," Luffy said, trying to fill the awkward silence. "I hope you don't mind."

Zoro began to open his mouth, before closing it again, grunting quietly. 

"Does that mean you don't mind?"

A pause, then two small nods.

Luffy let out a breath of relief, grinning again. "That's good. I was afraid there for a minute."

Zoro's eyebrows furrowed a bit, wondering why Luffy would think he wouldn't want him there.

Oblivious to the expression on Zoro's face, Luffy asked him, "So... ah.... Whaddaya think Kuina's getting you from the cafeteria?"

Zoro was really hoping for some white rice. He didn't really care either way what Kuina brought to eat with it. He shifted his body in the bed to be more comfortable. "...Unnh..."

"Hmm..." Luffy wasn't sure what Zoro was trying to say, so he told him, "I'm gonna list stuffta eat, and you nod or shake your head to tell me if you want that or not. Okay?"

A nod from Zoro.

"Okay. Um... ramen?" Before Zoro could shake his head however, Luffy put a finger to his chin. "Oh wait, you can't eat that, 'cause of the gluten." And possibly other stuff that Zoro couldn't eat. "Takoyaki?"

Zoro shook his head. Takoyaki batter also contained gluten.

"I know! You want white rice!"

Zoro nodded, smiling a small smile.

A big grin from Luffy. "Aha! Now we're getting somewhere! Soo... What kinda meat would you want with it? You want beef? Or maybe pork?"

Zoro thought a second, then shook his head.

"Fish?... Shrimp?..."

An enthusiastic nod.

"Sounds good! Whaddaya wanna drink? You want water?"

A shake of the head.

"Milk?"

A scowl, before another head shake.

"Tea?"

A head shake.

"Sss..."

An enthusiastic nod. Which then turned into a hard head shake when that word turned out to be only 'soda'.

"Uunh!"

"I don't get it. What do you like to drink?"

"Uuuunnnhh..." Zoro moaned, trying and failing to communicate the word he needed. He knew what it was, only it sat there, just out of reach of his tongue. "Uunnh..."

The door opened quietly as Kuina entered. "Hey Zoro, sorry for how long I was gone. That line was long." She set up his rolling table, opening the carton the food was in, and breaking apart the disposable chopsticks, handing them to him.

Luffy spoke up then. "Hey Kuina? What does Zoro like to drink?"

"Usually hot green tea." Which she sat down onto the table near him as he began to tuck into his meal. "But every year on his birthday, since his 18th, he gets sake. He's not allowed more than a small measured glass though, as any more than that would interfere with his numerous meds. So when he gets it, he savors it, knowing that that's all he gets until next year. He loves sake."

Luffy was confused. "How'd you even find out that he liked it?" 

"I'd kind of given him a sip of mine once, he's loved it ever since."

"That musta been what he was tryna say to me earlier." Luffy thought back. "I was listing things to drink, asking him what he'd like, but I didn't think to say sake. Sorry Zoro."

A shrug and shake of the head from Zoro.

"How old was he when he had his first sip of sake?" Luffy wondered aloud.

Kuina thought a second. "He was seventeen."

"But wasn't he underage at the time though?" Luffy asked

"Mom and Dad let me have my first drink when they felt I was responsible enough to have one, regardless of the drinking laws. Once Zoro reached seventeen... well... I felt the same way about giving him his first."

"Wow..." Luffy said. "I don't really like sake."

Kuina didn't miss the way Zoro sideeyed Luffy. She said, "I like it okay, but it's like nectar to Zoro."

Zoro's eyes flicked back to Kuina. "Uunh..." He uttered before taking another mouthful of food.

Kuina turned to her brother. "What is it, Zoro?"

He grabbed the cup his tea was in, holding it out toward her. "Uunh, uunh..."

"What's he asking you?" Luffy wondered as he too, turned to Zoro. 

"I think he wants sake now that we've been talking about it," She told Luffy, then turning back to Zoro, she said, "Sorry Little Brother, I didn't bring any with me."

Zoro made not a sound, but the soul-crushing look of disappointment on his face made Kuina wish she _did_ have some of Zoro's favorite poison. "I'm sorry, Zoro..."

Zoro sighed, shaking his head.

"Oh! That reminds me! I called Dr. Sugimoto back in to talk to him more about Transcortical Motor Aphasia, and he was telling me that Zoro should be able to repeat things said to him. It's a small step, but if he can do it, it's a good start! And every little bit helps!" 

"Wow!" Luffy's grin grew impossibly large as he listened to what Kuina had to say. "Then Zoro might be able to talk again after all! I wonder if he can say our names?"

Kuina's grin grew to a size Luffy and Zoro had previously not seen on her. "Only one way to find out! Zoro?" When she had his attention, she said, "Zoro, can you say Kuina? Ku-i-na?" She sounded it out slowly. 

"... Ku...i...na?" Zoro haltingly uttered, as if he were unsure of his own ability to say his sister's name.

Kuina nodded. "That's good! Kuina?"

"Kuina?" Zoro said, with more confidence this time.

She grabbed his shoulders. "That's good, Zoro! That's _really_ good! Now, see if you can say his name." She motioned to Luffy.

Luffy leaned in, saying his name slowly, to help Zoro get a good grasp of it. "Lu-ffy."

Zoro tried out the name, finding it to now fall easily from his tongue. "Lu-ffy."

Luffy threw his hands in the air. "Luffy!"

Zoro repeated the name. "Luffy!"

Luffy put his hand in the air in front of him. "High five!"

Beaming brightly, Zoro removed his hand from under the blankets, slapping it against Luffy's own hand. 


	9. Fever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. It's been a rough couple of months for me healthwise, but I'm ready to post a new chapter now. Please enjoy!

"Hey Zoro, lookit this kitten!" Luffy said quietly as he played his friend a video on his phone. "He's so sleepy, he's about to fall over!"

The time was tending toward nightfall, and Luffy and Zoro were sitting up in Zoro's bed watching videos and playing games on their phones. Kuina was on her laptop surfing the web and reading fiction. 

A smile spead across Zoro's face as he watched the video, then growing bored again as it ended, he and Luffy sighed in unison. 

Luffy stretched his arms in the air. "Man, I'm bored..."

"Uunnh..."

"You too, huh?" 

Zoro nodded, looking to his window. By now the outside world he loved so much was mostly obscured by the piled up snow on the sill. Turning away from it again, he heard his stomach rumble angrily.

Luffy turned to him. "You hungry?"

Zoro nodded, grunting an affirmative.

"Me too. You hungry, Kuina?" Luffy asked her.

"Now that you mention it, I am." Kuina closed her laptop. "It does seem to be close to dinnertime. I can get us something from the cafeteria. What would you like?"

"Actually," Luffy let down the railing on his side of the bed, getting out, and sliding it back up again. "I know you're tired, and I was about to go down anyway, so I can get it for you. What would _you_ like?" 

"That's really sweet of you, Luffy!" She then told him what she wanted. "Once they bring Zoro his dinner, then you can go get ours."

"Okay."

It wasn't too long before Zoro's meal was brought in, a hot and chunky vegetable beef stew with a side of white rice. They'd also brought him a cup of steaming green tea. 

"Looks yummy!" Luffy observed, as the nurses set up Zoro's rolling table. "Alright, be right back!" Then Luffy was out the door.

\--------------------

After they'd all had their dinner, Kuina helped the nurses give Zoro his nightly bath, before he was put to bed again. 

Luffy noticed that Zoro was having trouble keeping his eyes open. "Hey Zoro? You wanna sleep?"

Zoro gave him a small, slow nod. He clicked out of the browser on his laptop, closing the cover. When Luffy moved to leave the bed, Zoro stopped him with a hand on his arm. 

"I think he wants you to stay there." Kuina correctly observed, as she set down her own laptop. "When he goes to sleep, you can move then."

Zoro's brow furrowed. "Unh."

"Okay, or not." Kuina was about to tuck them in when Zoro motioned for her to climb in on the other side of him. "You want me to sleep with you too?"

Zoro nodded once.

Kuina glanced at the wall clock as she removed her slippers. The time read 8:52. "Well, it _is_ cold tonight. I guess it'll be warmer huddled together." Grabbing her pillow, she lowered the railing, pulling back the blankets surrounding Zoro and Luffy, getting in the bed and raising it again. Lowering the brightness of the lights above the head of the bed, she then adjusted Zoro's pillow to his liking.

"Zoro's bed sure is comfy!" Luffy said, snuggling under the blankets. "Want me to let down the head?" He asked Kuina.

"Sure, why not?" She also snuggled down into the blankets getting comfortable.

Luffy grabbed the control for the bed, letting the head down. Once completely down, Zoro turned onto his side, facing Kuina, who put her arms around him, pulling him close.

Kuina kissed her little brother on the forehead. "Goodnight Zoro. I love you."

Zoro nodded against her chest, closing his eyes for the night in comfort and complete security. 

Kuina stroked Zoro's hair. When he was breathing softly and evenly, she began to speak in a quiet voice, "You know, when I was a kid, the other children used to poke fun at me, because they didn't consider my little brother "normal". Just because he lived in a hospital and couldn't ever go outside to play, didn't mean he wasn't normal."

"That's awful... How long did this go on?" Luffy asked, just as quietly.

"Until at least middle school. By then, the kids were a little more mature, and didn't bother me as much. I still didn't have many friends though. By highschool, I didn't have time for friends or a social life. I was balancing work, school, and caring for Zoro as best I could."

"The accident happened while I was still in highschool, and I've been Zoro's sole caretaker since. I'm just glad we weren't separated after the accident. I was nearly eighteen when it happened. In their wills, our parents left me the estate and enough money to live comfortably, and to continue Zoro's hospital care. I wish I could use the money to make Zoro feel better. He's tired of being sick all the time."

There was a small chill, so Luffy pulled the blanket closer around his neck, snuggling closer to Zoro. "I can imagine."

"So tell me about you. Do you have any siblings?" Kuina asked.

"Yeah, me an' my two older brothers, Ace and Sabo, live in an apartment in Sapporo. As I told Zoro, they're kinda protective of me, even though I'm not a kid. Ace owns a gaming store, and Sabo is studying sociology and history at uni." 

"What about you though? What do you do?"

"Me? I'm kinda inbetween jobs at the moment. I've been thinking of going back to school though, to become a veterinarian."

"So you like animals, huh?"

"Love 'em!"

"Veterinarian school sounds nice. I've always wanted to fence, or do kendo, or something like that. Maybe one day."

"Yeah..." Luffy yawned sleepily. After a quiet moment of listening to the blustery winds outside, he commented. "I know this isn't a real slumber party but... it kinda feels like one."

"It does, doesn't it?" Kuina smiled. "Hope I'm not spoiling your fun, but I'm kind of tired..."

"Yeah, we should probably go to sleep now." Luffy then put his own arms around Zoro, closing his eyes. "Goodnight Kuina."

"Goodnight Luffy."

\--------------------

The sensation of heat in her arms... 

In her sleep, Kuina nearly kicked the blankets off of her when she realized where the heat was coming from. She awoke with a start. 

"Luffy?... Luffy..." Kuina whispered to the black-haired young man who was just waking up himself. 

"Mmm...Why's Zoro so hot?...." Luffy sleepily asked before it dawned on him what was happening. He too, was wide awake in an instant. "We need to call a nurse! Zoro's really sick!"

"Yes, please do that while I go get the cloth." Kuina got out of the bed, tucking Zoro back in.

Luffy was puzzed. "Won't covering him make him more hot?" He noticed a red flush across Zoro's cheeks, and misery painted his sleeping face.

"No, whenever his fever is this high, he gets chills, so he needs to stay covered."

"Oh, okay." Luffy grabbed the call button and pressed it. When the nurse's station answered, he calmly said, "I'm with Roronoa Zoro. He's got a high fever. Can someone come give him something for it? Please hurry." 

Kuina was swabbing Zoro's face when the nurse came in with a small cup of liquid medicine for him. She shook him gently. "Zoro?... Zoro..."

Zoro cracked open feverish eyelids, moaning in pain. 

Kuina sat Zoro up, taking the medicine cup from the nurse, and placing it to his lips. She kissed him on his forehead, as he quickly drained the cup. She wrapped him in his blanket and held him in her arms, whispering, "Feel better, Little Brother... I love you so, so much..." As the nurse left, Kuina hummed softly to comfort Zoro, rocking him slowly. 

Once he was sleeping again, Kuina gently lay him back down. 

"Um... Should we get back in bed, or..." Luffy's quiet voice asked.

"You can. I want to sit and watch him for a bit," Kuina said, stroking Zoro's hair. 

Luffy pulled back the blankets, getting back into the bed. Sliding the railings back into place, he carefully fluffed his pillow before lying down on his back this time. Hands behind his head, it was a long moment before he asked, "...Is he gonna be okay?"

Kuina couldn't keep her worry from her voice, as she replied, "Yeah... I think so. But he hasn't had a fever this bad in some time. I'm not sure what to think. It seems to be coming down some now, but he's still so hot."

Luffy was quiet for a moment before replying. "Hopefully, he'll feel better in the morning." He then burrowed under the blankets again. "Goodnight Kuina."

"Goodnight Luffy. Have a good sleep."

\--------------------

The next morning, Luffy was the first one awake. Despite all that had happened last night, he still felt refreshed. Gazing down at Zoro and Kuina, he wondered whether Zoro would be feeling better this morning now that his fever had broken during the night (which had required a change of pajamas for him).

Even in her sleep, Kuina held tightly to her brother, as if, were she to let him go, he would disappear forever. Zoro's head lay against her chest, his lips parted slightly, peacefully sleeping.

Turning his attention to his empty stomach, he thought about leaving to get something to eat, but then, leaving before Kuina and Zoro woke up would probably be rude, so he stayed where he was for now. To take his mind off his stomach, he grabbed his phone from the nearby nightstand with the intention of texting Ace and Sabo. When he turned the screen on and tapped in his pin however, he noticed that he'd gotten messages from them both, wondering if he was okay. He put them both in conversation mode, then began typing:

Luffy: hi Ace! hi Sabo! yeah, i'm ok. looks like the storm is letting up some. i was stuck in the hospital, so i slept in Zoro's room 

Ace: That's good, though you probably shoulda texted us the day you got there. We were worried about you. 

Sabo: Yeah!   
Sabo: So how's Zoro doing these days?

Luffy: not too good. he has his ok days, and his bad days, and his really bad days. there aren't many days where he feels good.  
Luffy: like yesterday? he had a bad seizure that made him where he can't talk anymore. he can repeat what you say, but can't talk on his own anymore

Sabo: A seizure? Like with epilepsy?

Luffy: yeah! his sister said he's been having them since he was a baby 

Ace: That's horrible!

Sabo: Sure is! 😢

Luffy: he runs fevers a lot too, like last night

Ace: Poor guy. 

Luffy: i know...   
Luffy: when they wake up, i'll tell Zoro you guys asked about him

Sabo: You told him about us?

Luffy: yeah...   
Luffy: was I not supposed to?

Ace: Nah, we don't mind!   
Ace: Anyway, I gotta get ready. I'm conducting a job interview, so I can't be late. Seeya Luff!

Luffy: ttyl Ace! 

Sabo: I need to go too, but I'll be on later today if you need anything. Later Luffy!

Luffy: ttyl Sabo!

Luffy clicked out of the messaging app just as Zoro let out a small moan. 

"...You okay, Zoro?" Kuina asked sleepily without opening her eyes.

Zoro, who also had his eyes closed, grunted an affirmative.

Luffy placed a hand on Zoro's shoulder. He was warm, but not like last night when he'd been burning with fever. "How do you feel this morning, Zoro? Better?"

"Uuhn..." 

Luffy took this as a 'yes' since Zoro's fever was gone. "That's good. Kuina?"

"...Yeah?" She asked as she yawned widely, covering her mouth with her hand. She began to sit up.

"You guys want something to eat? I'm starving," Luffy admitted. 

Covering Zoro back up, and tucking him in, Kuina wiped at her eyes. "I could use something. Not sure what I have a taste for though," she said.

"You want anything, Zoro?... Zoro?" Luffy saw that Zoro had fallen back asleep. "I guess I should leave him alone for now."

"Yeah, after last night, he's gotta be so tired," Kuina commented, gazing at her brother's sleeping face. She looked back to Luffy again. "Want to get up?"

"Yeah," Luffy carefully let down the railings of the bed, swinging his legs over the side. He slid his socked feet into his boots. "Now that you're awake, I'm gonna go down to the cafeteria and pick us up something." 

"There may be a lot of people down there, since so many visitors were stuck here because of the storm," Kuina said, looking out of the part of the window not obscured by snow. "It looks like it's finally letting up though. Thank goodness."

"Yeah, I bet everything's covered in snow and ice now!" He took off his borrowed pajamas, slipping back into his usual clothes. He pulled the railing back up around Zoro. "Welp, anyway, I'm going down now. I'll get us something good. Let me know when Zoro wakes up."

"Will do!" Kuina replied as she slid down the bed railing on her side of the bed, preparing to get up. 

\--------------------

When Luffy got back nearly an hour later, Zoro was groggily sitting up in bed, trying to choke down his own gluten-free, dairy-free breakfast. 

"Zoro~! You're awake!" Luffy exclaimed happily as he handed the bag with the containers of food to Kuina. "I texted Ace and Sabo this morning. They asked about you."

"What'd you tell them?" Kuina asked, opening the bag and taking out the food.

"I just updated them on his condition, and told them a bit about last night. That kinda thing. The top one is yours." He said to Kuina when he saw that she'd taken the food from the bag.

She opened the container in question, picking up the provided disposable chopsticks. "Thanks."

"No problem. Hey Zoro, you okay?" Luffy asked, just as his friend began to heave.

Kuina put down her food, grabbed the pink basin under Zoro's bed, and held it underneath his mouth just as he vomited. She stroked his hair as his stomach painfully emptied itself. When he was done, she held it for a few more seconds to let him spit. She then set the basin on his lap, pouring him a cup of water to rinse his mouth with.

"Luffy, could you get me a warm, wet cloth from the bathroom?" Kuina asked, as she lowered the head of Zoro's bed, and the railings on her side, sitting down next to him. When Luffy came back with the cloth, Kuina used it to wipe Zoro's face and mouth.

Zoro closed weary eyes, too tired and sick to do anything but lie there. Kuina sat stoking his hair and cheek. After a moment, she called the nurses station. 

"Yes, Roronoa-san, may I help you?" A kindly voice poured from the speaker above the bed.

"Yes, I need something to settle Zoro's stomach, please," Kuina said, going on to explain what had happened.

"We'll send something over right away," The nurse said. 

"Thank you." Kuina replaced the call button, moving from Zoro's hair to his back.

As tired as Zoro was, he couldn't quite relax enough to get to sleep. He was cold too, despite the blankets and his pajamas. He shivered a little as he heard the nurse come in to administer the medicine Kuina had called for. 

"Zoro... can you sit up? Just a little?" Kuina said as she supported him, helping him take the medicine. Once he'd swallowed it, she laid him back down, pulling the blankets up to his neck and tucking them around him. 

Zoro's brow furrowed, and he opened his eyes again. For some reason, his arm ached under his cast, to the point where he could no longer ignore it. He grunted in pain as he massaged the cast in a futile effort to relieve the pain.

Kuina, hearing his grunts, noticing him moving under the blankets. She peered underneath them, then calmly called the nurse again for more meds.

Though Zoro could no longer speak to tell her how he felt, he was grateful for his big sister. She always seemed to know what to do for him when he needed it.

"I don't mean to be rude but, I need to get back and extend my stay. I'll be back later, okay?" He said to Kuina. 

"Alright, we'll be here," Kuina told him.

To Zoro, he said, "I hope you're feeling better when I get back." He lay his hand on Zoro's covered shoulder.

Zoro nodded against his pillow.

"I should be back later today, at the latest tomorrow morning, okay?"

As sick and in pain as Zoro was, he gave Luffy a small, weak smile. 

"See you later, Zoro, Kuina!" Luffy said as he left the room.


End file.
